^' 


7^-i: 


V.  I 


APOSTOLIC  LIFE, 


AS   REVEALED    IN    THE    ACTS    OF 
THE    APOSTLES. 


V^BY 

JOSEPH   PARKER,  D.D., 

Minister  of  the  City  Temple,  Holborn  Viaduct,  London, 

AUTHOR   OF   "  ECCE   DEUS,"    "tHE   PARACLETE,"    "  THE    PRIESTHOOD    OF   CHRIST,"     "  THESE 
SAYINGS   OF   MINE,"    "SERVANT   OF  ALL,"    "THINGS   CONCERNING   HIMSELF,"    ETC. 


VOLUME       I. 

FROM  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST  TO  THE 
WITHDRAWAL  OF  PETER. 


NEW  YORK : 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS,   Publishers, 

lo  AND  12  Dey  Street. 

1883. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1883,  by 

FUNK    &    WAGNALLS, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C 


I    INSCRIBE    THIS    VOLUME 

TO 

MATTHEW    MOWSON    PROCTOR,    Esq. 

TO  WHOM 

MY    MINISTRY      OWES    SO    MUCH    OF    ITS 
BEST    INFLUENCE. 


.\ 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


VOL.   I. 


PAGE 

L    Acts  L  1-9.    The  Beginning  of  Apostolicity 2 

The  Writer  of  the  Records— The  Gospel  cannot  be  Hid— 
Theology  Immeasurable — Be  Charitable— Giving  Command- 
ments— Christ's  Life  continued — Same  Words,  but  not  Same 
Meanings — Grieving  the  Spirit. 

II,     Acts  i.  1-9.     The  Beginning  of  Apostolicity.     {^Continued.)     13 
Farewell    Interviews — Christ     taken    up — Life    Determines 
Death— Influence  of  First  Impressions — The  Gift  of  Power— 
The  Holy  Ghost  lost — No  little-minded  Christians — Growing 
in  Grace. 

III.  Acts  L  10-14.   The  Upward  Look 22 

Natural  Attitudes — Anonymous  Influences — Education  by 
Questioning — Looking  Upward — The  same  Jesus — The  Spirit 
of  Obedience — Mechanism  broken  up— Pray  without  ceasing. 

IV.  Acts  i.  1 5-26.    The  Premature  Election 32 

Completing  the  Apostolate — Doing  Something — Self-excom- 
munication— Arminian  and  Calvinist — Apostolical  Qualification 
— Unanimous  Decisions. 

V.    Acts  ii.  1-21.    The  Outpouring  of  the  Spirit 41 

Opportunities — The  Feast  of  Pentecost — With  one  Accord — 
The  Divine  Gift — How  great  Promises  are  fulfilled — ^The  Gift 
of  Fire. 

VI.    Acts  ii.  21.     The  Outpouring  of  the  Spirit.     {Continued.)     52 
Unity  in  Diversity — Receiving  the  Holy  Ghost — The  Need  of 
Union    with    Christ— No    Mechanical    Enthusiasm — Enlarged 
Conceptions  of  Things — No  Individuality  lost. 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PACH 

VII.    Acts  ii.  22-36.   The  Effect  of  Pentecost  upon  Peter.  .     6i 
Peter's  Transfiguration — The  personal  Effect  of  Inspira- 
tion—  Fulfilment  of   Prophecy — Peter's    Inspiration  —  An 
Evangelical  Speech— Everything  is  in  the  Bible — Inspiration 
unlimited. 

VIII.     Acts  ii.  37-47.    The  Effects  of  Gospel  Preaching...     70 
The  Double  Action  of  the  Spirit — A  Sermon  full  of  Script- 
ure—The Preacher  must  be  inspired — The  Gospel  and  the 
Heart — Healthy  Excitement— Common    Prayer   and   Com- 
mon Praise — Larger  Meanings  needed. 

IX.    Acts  iii.  1-11.    The  Lame  Man  Healed 80 

Quiet  Worship— Duty  not  lessened — Inspiration  not  lost — 
Apostolic  Practice— The  True  Riches — The  Strongest  Vindi- 
cation. 

X.    Acts  iii.  12-26.    A  Greater  Miracle 83 

The  Miracle  of  Exposition — The  True  Primacy — Peter's 
powerful  Appeal — The  Call  to  Repentance — Vital  Blessing. 

XI.     Acts  iv.  1-30.    Teaching  and  Persecution 98 

The  Logic  of  Events— Before  the  Judges— The  full  Title 
of  Christ— The  Appeal  to  Right. 

XII.     Acts  iv.  31-37  ;  v.  1-11.    Communism  and  its  Violation.  109 
A  Mission  to  the  Church — The  Need  of  Reality— Deceiv- 
ers of  the  Lord. 

XIII.  Acts  V.  12-42.    Apostolic  Audacity ii3 

Old-fashioned  Religion — Respectable  Churchism — True 
Preaching. 

XIV.  Acts  vi.  1-8.    The  Election  of  Deacons 128 

The  Power  of  Prayer — Nothing  Secular  in  the  Church — 
The  Power  of  Union. 

XV.    Acts  vi.  9-15.    The  Trial  OF  Stephen 137 

Twofold  Character — The  Danger  of  Controversy — The 
Silent  Vindication — Miracles  possible  now. 

XVI.    Acts  vii.  1-53.    The  Defence  of  Stephen 146 

Unconscious  Influence — Spiritual  History — The  Rhetorical 
Model. 

XVII.    Acts  vii.  1-53.    The  Defence  of  Stephen.    {Continued.^  157 
The  Fact  of  Personal  Election — The  Mysteries  of  Provi- 
dence— Ancient  and  Modern  Providence. 


XVIII. 


XIX. 


XX. 


XXI. 


XXII. 


XXIII. 


XXIV. 


XXV. 


XXVI. 


XXVII. 


XXVIII. 


XXIX. 


CONTENTS.  vii 

PAGE 

Acts  vii.  54-60.     The  Double  Effect  of  Truth 164 

Contrary  Effects— Light  Killing  and  Blessing— Uncon- 
scious Intellectual  Vanity — Varieties  of  Preaching. 

Acts  vii.  54-60.  {Continued.)  The  Defence  of  Stephen.  172 

Popular    Misjudgments— Self-inspiration    Suspected— 
Spiritual  Vision— Stephen's  long  Life. 

Acts  viii,  1-8.    Three  Great  Figures  in  the  Church.  iSo 

The   Dogmatism   of    Truth— Two   new   Graves— In    a 
great  Succession. 

Acts  viii.  9-13.     Simon  the  Sorcerer 18S 

Samaria  a  Type— Diseased,  Possessed,  Deluded— The 
Required  Medium. 

Acts  viii.  14-25,     The  Deputation  to  Samaria 195 

Change  of  Experience— True  Apostolic  Influence— How 
little  Money  can  do. 

Acts  viii.  14-25.    The  Deputation  to  Samaria.    {Con- 

timied.) 203 

Apostolic  Temptations — What  the  Ministry  should  be— 
The  Inspiration  of  Prayer. 

Acts  viii.  26-40.   The  Ethiopian  Convert— A  Typical 

Man 210 

Honest  Inquiry— Prepared  Hearers— Exultant  Faith. 
Acts  ix.  1-22.     The  Conversion  of  Saui :..  218 

Conversion  of  Saul— The  Master  Miracle— Retribution. 
Acts  ix.  1-22.    {Continued.')    Saul  Self-contrasted.  .  234 

The    Work    of     Conversion  —  The    Source    of    True 
Strength— Blinding  Spiritual  Vision. 

Acts  ix.  32-43.     Summarized  Service 241 

Obscure    Workers  —  Subordinate    Work    for    Christ — 
Power  of  Prayer. 

Acts  X.    The  Conversion  of  the  Gentiles 249 

Dramatic  Chapters — One  Simon  a  Tanner — The  Invisi- 
ble Self. 

Acts  xi.  1-18.     Enlargement  of  Ideas 259 

The  Keyword  of  Christianity— Sectatianism   Irreligious 
—  Enlargement  in  two  D.rections. 


i  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

XXX.    Acts  xi.  19-30.    Cleaving  unto  The  Lord 266 

Typical  Conversions— The    Helpfulness  of    Encour- 
agement— Called  Christians. 

XXXI.     Acts  xii.  1-11.     Peter  Delivered 275 

The  All-disposing  Power — A  pitched  battle— Coming 
to  Himself. 

XXXn.     Acts  xii.  12-25.     Peter's  Final  Appearance 283 

Consideration— Providence  a  daily    Surprise— Read 
the  Chapter  through. 


THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


XXXIII.  Personality    and    Manifestation    of    the   Holy 

Spirit 291 

Gift  of  the  Spirit — Appearances  Misleading — Portraits 
of  Christ. 

XXXIV.  The  Historic  Movement  Towards  Spirituality..  299 

Development — Spiritual  Culmination — Rational  As- 
sent. 

XXXV.     The  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Interpreter  of  Scripture.  306 
Scripture  Compared  with  Scripture — The  Interpreta- 
tion of  Scripture — The  Spirit  of  the  Whole — Self-prepa- 
ration of  Preachers — The  Interpreter  to  be  prayed  for. 

XXXVI.     The  Ministry  of  the  Comforter 318 

An  Important  Question — Christ  Spiritually  Glorified 
— The  Miracle  of  Light — Guiding  into  Truth — Adven- 
turous Minds — Inspiration  of  Memory. 

XXXVII.     The  CoNvicTivE  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit 330 

Conviction  of  Sin — The  Subtlety  of  Falsehood— The 
innermost  Heart — The  moral  Basis — Degrees  of  Sin — 
Spiritual  Analysis — Universal  Conviction. 

XXXVIII.     Regeneration 345 

The  Human  Will  in  Regeneration — The  Mystery  of 
Atonement — The  Fundamental  Change — True  Insight. 


PREFACE. 


THIS  study  of  Apostolic  Life  is  intended  as  a  sequel 
to  the  author's  Inner  Life  of  Christ,  as  revealed  in 
the  Gospel  of  Matthew. 

A  wonderful  record,  truly,  is  the  narrative  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles.  Here,  all  is  movement,  progress,  con- 
troversy, and  spiritual  conquest  ;  the  church  rears  its 
marvellous  form  amidst  the  tumults  of  the  world's  most 
exciting  history  ;  and  names  rise  almost  visibly  out  of 
social  obscurity  into  the  noblest  fame  known  to  human 
society.  The  book  may  be  compared  very  variously,  but 
not  the  least  pertinently  to  a  battle-field,  in  which  the 
contest  lies  between  a  feebleness  socially  contemptible, 
and  a  strength  socially  imperial  and  invincible.  How  the 
battle  proceeds,  the  book  itself  must  tell.  This  is  the 
book  which  modern  church-builders  should  specially  and 
profoundly  study,  if  they  would  work  in  harmony  with  the 
purpose  of  Him  who  is  the  sure  and  only  Corner-stone. 
By  such  study  they  will  come  back  to  the  truth  that  the 
Christian  Church  is  not  a  man-built  castle,  grand  with  the 
petty  vanity  of  mortal  ambition,  and  resonant  with  the 
discord  of  rival  successes,  but  a  house  not  made  with  hands, 
a  temple  set  up  in  quietness,  but  so  set  up  that  it  can  never 
be  thrown  down.  Men  may  build  their  showy  ecclesiasti- 
cisms  and  boast  loudly  of  statistical  position,  and  in  the 
very  act  of  apparent  worship  may  profane  the  sanctuary  of 
God.  That  the  church  must  have  a  visible  representation 
no  student  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  can  deny  ;  neither 


PREFACE. 


can  it  be  denied,  that  visibleness,  however  broad  and 
lustrous,  cannot  represent  the  whole  secret — the  inner  and 
infinite  life — of  Christ's  blood-bought  and  inspired  church. 
That  church  must  always  be  the  mystery  of  human  associa- 
tion, and  the  truest  seal  of  human  brotherhood.  The 
church  is,  in  my  view,  much  larger  than  many  persons 
seem  to  suppose.  In  this  respect,  as  in  all  others,  God's 
thought  is  higher  than  ours,  so  high  that  no  wordy  argu- 
ment can  persuade  the  minds  that  doubt  it,  yet  so  certain 
that  the  issue,  with  all  its  glory,  must  be  left  to  the  Provi- 
dence which  we  conceal  by  the  name  of  Time. 

I  cannot  be  too  thankful  that  in  working  out  my  ministry 
I  was  led  to  undertake  this  sacred  study,  for  here  I  have 
found  all  the  excitement  of  historic  action  combined  with 
all  the  solemn  revelation  of  spiritual  doctrine,  and  have  thus 
been  enabled  to  awaken  and  gratify  the  attention  of  many 
who  could  not  have  been  reached  by  one  or  other  of  these 
characteristics  alone.  The  popular  mind  is  not  strongly 
disposed  towards  doctrinal  study,  and  is  perhaps  less  so 
to-day  than  ever,  hence  the  supreme  advantage  of  intro- 
ducing it  in  connexion  with  the  development  of  a  history 
often  rising  into  the  sublimest  passion  in  its  heroism  and 
sacrifice.  Whilst  thus  endeavoring  to  awaken  interest  in 
Christian  docrine,  I  have  made  no  attempt  to  find  a  formal 
theology  in  apostolic  preaching.  No  such  theology  is 
there  to  be  found.  The  supposed  finding  of  it  aiiywhere 
has  been  the  heaviest  Cross  which  the  Risen  Christ  has 
had  to  carry,  and  the  greatest  hindrance  to  the  extension 
of  His  reign.  Theology  is  as  indefinable  as  Z//r.  It  admits 
of  multitudinous  expression,  and  like  Inspiration  itself 
must  take  the  colour  of  the  individual  soul  that  receives  it. 
As  Theology  deals  with  the  Infinite  it  cannot  admit  of 
complete  and  final  statement  in  ^vords.  There  is  always  a 
nameless  quantity  beyond.  An  infinite  theology  should 
create  an  \r\^mtc  charity,  yet  probably  there  is  less  charity 
in  theology  than  in  any  other  subject  of  human  thought, 


PREFACE. 


a  fact  which  involves  the  greatest  contradiction  possible 
in  human  action.  It  appears  to  me,  with  increasing  dis- 
tinctness, that  the  only  radical  cure  for  this  mischief  is  a 
close  study  of  Apostolic  methods  and  a  zealous  return  to 
their  practice.  The  Apostles  preached  Jesus  and  the 
Resurrection.  What  need  have  we  to  preach  more  ?  What 
more,  indeed,  is  it  possible  for  any  man  to  preach  ?  Close- 
ly considered,  all  that  is  noblest  in  prophecy,  all  that  is 
deepest  in  history,  all  that  is  purest  in  morals,  is  involved 
in  the  topic — jESUS  AND  THE  Resurrection  !  By  these 
facts  themselves,  and  not  by  any  interpretation  of  them  are 
the  souls  of  men  to  be  saved.  We  are  bewildered  by  in- 
terpretations. The  reason  is  that  interpretations  return 
upon  themselves,  and  by  a  kind  of  self-consciousness  are 
always  seeking  to  amend  and  refine  their  own  expression. 
The  sophism  Avhich  underlies  all  this  formal  and  standard 
theology  is — Surely  it  is  possible  to  say  in  zvords  what  we 
believe  in  thought.  No  !  Not  where  the  subject  thought 
about  is  itself  infinite.  We  can  o^^r  suggestions  ;  we  can 
point  out  beginnings  ;  we  can  compare  one  aspect  of  human 
consciousness  with  another  ;  but  beyond  this  we  cannot 
move,  because  as  no  arm  can  reach  the  horizon,  so  no  word 
can  embrace  and  symbolize  the  immeasurable  circum- 
ference of  Truth.  Are  we  to  be  left  then,  so  to  say,  at 
the  mercy  of ' '  suggestions' '  and  ' '  beginnings"?  Certainly 
not.  "  Jesus  and  the  Resurrection"  are  not  suggestions, 
they  are  Facts,  and  on  those  facts  the  church  stands  as 
upon  a  foundation  of  imperishable  rock.  Of  course,  there 
are  minds  so  constituted  as  to  find  themselves  unable  to 
resist  such  inquiries,  as  What  do  you  believe  about  Jesus  ? 
What  do  you  believe  about  the  Resurrection  ?  Such  in- 
quiries are  supposed  to  lead  to  an  enlightened  theology  and 
an  intelligent  faith.  Let  us  take  care  lest  an  "  intelligent 
faith"  become  the  worst  type  of  self-trustful  rationalism, 
by  drawing  the  whole  emphasis  into  the  word  "  intelligent" 
and  depleting  the  word  "  faith"  of  its  grace  and  force.  To 
be  saved  by  intelligent  faith,  is  to  be  saved    by   zvorks. 


PREFACE. 


Why  should  not  intelligence  stop  at  ^^  facts,  and  faith 
go  forward,  as  it  alone  can  go,  into  mysterious  and  in- 
spiring communion  with  God  ?  JESUS  is  a  greater  term 
than  zxKy  definition  of  Jesus  ;  so  with  Resurrection,  so  with 
Atonement,  so  with  Faith,  so  with  every  word  that  points 
towards  the  secret  of  God.  When  this  truth  is  recognized 
there  will  be  a  great  coming  together  of  Christian  thinkers, 
and  a  general  lowering  of  standards  which  human  hands 
have  impiously  erected. 

A  writer,  now  deceased,  held  in  the  highest  reputation 
by  all  sections  of  the  Evangelical  Church,  said  to  me, 
*'  How  do  you  account  for  it  that  whilst  the  age  is  insisting 
upon  the  greatest  definiteness  and  precision  in  science,  it 
is  becoming  more  and  more  indefinite  in  theology?"  I 
did  not  feel  the  difficulty  of  the  question  then,  nor  do  I 
feel  it  now.  The  two  things  are  not  to  be  compared.  The 
universe  is  measurable,  —  its  Creator  is  immeasurable  :  that 
is  the  reason  of  the  supposed  indcfiniteness  of  theological 
thought  and  expression.  I  say  j-?//'/'(7j'r^  indcfiniteness,  for 
it  may  not  be  real.  It  is  the  indcfiniteness  of  amazement, 
not  the  indcfiniteness  of  doubt.  The  thing  thought  about 
IS  so  much  larger  than  was  at  first  suspected,  that  words 
are  felt  to  be  unequal  to  the  task  of  definition.  The  man 
who  receives  a  legacy  of  ten  pounds  without  doubt  or  mis- 
giving, might  hesitate  to  believe  that  a  million  pounds  had 
been  bequeathed  to  him.  The  magnificence  of  the  bequest 
almost  paralyzes  his  faith.  What  wonder  ?  Is  it  not  also 
the  same  with  divine  things?  Divine  revelation  may  be 
the  measure  of  human  indcfiniteness,  and  that  indcfinite- 
ness may  bring  with  it  the  greatest  of  all  prayers — "  Lord 
increase  our  FAITH,"— that  is  to  say,  "Thy  revelation 
is  so  much  larger  than  our  capacity,  it  shines  upon  us 
like  heaven  above  heaven,  radiant  with  glory  unimagined, 
rising  to  intolerablencss  of  burning  splendour,  that  we 
can  bear  it  only  in  proportion  to  the  enlargement  of  our 
faith  :  Lord,  we  believe,  help  Thou  our  unbelief :  Lord, 


PREFACE. 


increase  our  faith!"  It  is  no  mean  gift  that  is  offered. 
It  is  INCARNATION,  God  with  us  :  RESURREC- 
TION, Life  abounding  over  death:  ATONEMENT, 
Forgiveness  made  possible  :  INSPIRATION,  Material 
words  turned  to  spiritual  uses  :  IMMORTALITY,  The 
completion  of  the  divine  purpose  !  Let  us  now  turn  to 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  see  whether  it  be  not  so. 

JOSEPH  PARKER. 

The  City  Temple, 
Nov.  \st,  1882. 


THE  ACTS   OF   THE  APOSTLES. 


1.  In  the  title  the  Greek  MSS.  present  considerable  variations,  as  for 
example—"  Acts  of  the  Apostles  ;"  "  Acts  of  all  the  Apostles  ;"  "  Acts 
of  the  Holy  Apostles  ;"  sometimes  the  author's  name  is  given,  in  one  in- 
stance thus — "  Written  by  the  Holy  and  Illustrious  Luke,  Apostle  and 
Evangelist."  Chrysostom  called  it  "The  Book,  the  Demonstration  of 
the  Resurrection." 

2.  The  book  is  in  no  sense  a  history  of  the  Apostles  as  a  body.  The 
names  of  the  eleven  occur  but  once.  They  are  mentioned  collectively 
eight  times.     St.  John  appears  in  three  instances  only. 

3.  The  history  begins  at  Jerusalem  and  ends  at  Rome.  At  the  begin- 
ning the  Church  was  but  a  Jewish  sect,  numbering  120  persons  ;  it  ends 
by  breaking  down  every  barrier,  and  including  every  nation. 

4.  The  writing  of  the  book  may  be  referred  to  the  70th  or  80th  year  of 
the  first  Christian  century. 

5.  In  the  book  there  are  seven  parts  ; — 

(a)  Pentecost,  with  the  events  preceding  it     Ch.  i.,  ii. 

(b)  The  acts  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judaea, 

and  in  Samaria,  among  the  Circum- 
cised     "     iii. — ix.,  xii. 

(c)  The  acts  in  Caesarea,  and  the  admission 

of  the  Gentiles "     x.,  xi. 

((/)  The  first  journey  of  Barnabas  and  Saul 

among  the  Gentiles      .         .         .         .        "     xiii.,  xiv. 

(f)  The  deputation  sent,  and  the  council  of 

Jerusalem  as  to  the  Jews  and  Gentiles 

being  on  the  same  footing    ..."  xv. 

(/)  The  second  journey  of  Paul        .         .        "  xvi. — xix. 

(g)  The  third  journey  as  far  as  to  Rome    .        "  xix. — xxviii. 


APOSTOLIC    LIFE; 

AS  DELINEATED  IN  THE  ACTS    OF    THE  APOSTLES. 


PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  thou  hast  great  charges  against  us,  and  we  have  no 
answer  to  the  accusation  which  thou  dost  make.  We  are  rebels  and  hard 
of  heart.  Though  thou  hast  left  our  Zion  desolate,  and  burned  our  cities 
with  fire,  the  spirit  of  unbelief  is  still  triumphant  within  us.  Behold  it  is 
not  in  thy  thunder  and  lightning  to  touch  this  inner  mischief  :  thou  canst 
not  bring  us  to  thyself  by  punishment  :  hell  saith  "It  is  not  in  me  to 
save."  Therefore  hast  thou  come  to  us  by  another  and  better  way,  even 
by  the  way  of  redeeming  love,  by  the  sacred  way  of  the  cross,  and  of  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son,  and  of  all  the  ministry  which  is  embodied 
in  his  sweet  name. 

Thou  dost  love  the  world  ;  the  world  is  baptized  with  tears  from 
heaven,  thine  heart  doth  go  out  after  the  world,  and  thou  dost  yearn  to 
find  it.  It  is  thy  world,  thou  dost  not  cast  it  off  because  of  its  sins,  thou 
dost  the  rather  draw  nearer  to  it  with  some  fonder  love.  There  is  joy  in 
the  presence  of  thine  angels  over  a  repentant  world  more  than  over  all 
the  firmament  of  the  unfallen  stars.  Thou  dost  cause  all  wrath  to  praise 
thee,  and  out  of  sin,  as  out  of  a  root,  wilt  thou  bring  some  good  that  we 
cannot  now  foretell.  God  is  all  in  all — to  thy  power  there  is  no  limit,  thy 
mercy  endureth  for  ever,  thy  compassions  are  newer  than  the  morning, 
softer  and  brighter  than  the  dew.  Thy  mercies  fail  not,  and  the  night  is 
written  all  over  with  the  stars  of  thy  promises.  Thou  art  a  great  God  ana 
righteous  and  in  thee  is  no  love  of  sin — thou  dost  hate  it  with  a  perfect 
hatred,  and  yet  toward  the  sinner  thou  dost  come  out  of  thy  pavilion  of 
eternity  with  all  utterances  of  love  and  proofs  of  mercy,  and  thy  cry  is 
towards  the  children  of  men. 

Give  us  understanding  of  these  things,  we  humbly  pray  thee,  that  we 
may  thus  be  led  up  to  the  mystery  of  the  cross.  In  the  cross  thou  hast 
given  thy  last  and  highest  proof  of  love.  Last  of  all  thou  didst  send  thy 
Son  :  thou  hast  none  other  now  to  send,  all  other  messengers  are  dumb 


ACTS  I.  I- 


after  the  utterance  of  the  eloquence  of  his  love.  May  we  know  that  the 
cross  was  set  up  for  sin,  not  for  our  sin  only,  but  for  the  sin  of  the  whole 
world,  and  therefore  is  as  manifold  in  its  mystery  as  is  the  sin  of  all  the 
ages.  We  rejoice  that  the  way  to  the  cross  is  open  ;  thou  hast  set  back 
the  gate,  thou  hast  written  thy  welcomes  upon  the  cross  itself,  and  thou 
wilt  forgive  all  who  pray  for  pardon.  For  that  sweet  word  we  bless 
thee  :  it  conquers  death,  it  fills  up  the  void  of  the  grave,  it  brings  the 
light  about  us  when  sevenfold  night  would  distress  us  with  its  darkness. 
Open  thou  the  gate  of  heaven  daily,  and  say  unto  each  of  us,  "  Thy  sins, 
which  are  many,  are  all  forgiven  thee."  This  forgiveness  we  have  in 
Christ,  and  through  Christ  and  for  Christ's  sake  alone,  and  because  he 
ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us,  we  shall  be  saved  to  the  utter- 
most. 

Thou  knowest  our  heart's  complaint,  the  distress  of  our  life  is  not  hid- 
den from  thee,  the  sighing  of  pur  spirit  is  heard  in  heaven  :  have  mercy 
upon  us,  O  God,  yea,  have  mercy  upon  us,  so  that  where  sin  aboundeth, 
grace  may  much  more  abound,  where  accusation  doth  pierce  the  heart, 
there  may  be  a  great  healing  and  a  perfect  comforting  of  grace.  Let  thy 
truth  shine  upon  the  understanding,  let  thy  love  speak  daily  to  the  heart, 
let  all  the  comforting  of  thy  blessed  angels  be  ministered  unto  us  mile  by 
mile  of  life's  dreary  walk,  and  at  the  last  may  we  find  the  beginning, 
may  death  be  but  another  phase  of  life,  and  as  we  sink  below  the  horizon 
of  time,  may  it  be  to  rise  upon  the  infinite  horizon  of  eternity. 

Speak  comfortably  unto  us,  for  we  are  but  bruised  reeds  ;  thunder  not 
against  us  with  thy  great  power  or  thou  wilt  utterly  take  us  away  ;  urge 
not  against  us  thy  strength,  for  we  are  so  weak,  but  comfort  us,  lure  us, 
draw  us  to  thyself,  with  the  cords  of  love  and  with  the  bands  of  a  man, 
and  may  we,  thus  treated  as  feeble  creatures  and  sinners  divested  of 
strength,  find  our  rest  in  the  heart  of  God. 

Bless  the  friends  who  are  now  at  home  in  this  church —bless  the  stran- 
ger within  our  gates,  regard  the  mocking  man  and  subdue  him  into  rever- 
ence, disabuse  the  prejudiced  mind  and  bring  it  into  holy  attention  to  the 
spirit  of  the  sanctuary.  Release  those  who  are  burdened  and  heavy  laden 
because  of  tormenting  recollections  and  oppressive  accusations.  Grant 
unto  us  all  the  spirit  of  faith,  the  desire  to  see  more  deeply  into  thy  truth, 
and  whilst  we  are  waiting  may  we  know  this  to  be  none  other  than  one  of 
the  days  of  the  Son  of  man  upon  the  earth,  bright  with  heaven's  own  light, 
glad  with  music  falling  from  the  upper  spheres,  to  make  us  know  the 
meaning  and  the  mystery  of  perfect  joy.     Amen, 

Acts  i.  1-9. 

1.  The  former  treatise  \}^oyoq,  word  or  discourse]  have  I  made,  O  The- 
ophilus  [Luke  i.  3]  of  all  that  Jesus  began  both  to  do  and  teach  [Luke 
xxiv.  19]. 

2.  Until  the  day  in   which  he  was  taken  up,  after  that  he  through  the 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  APOSTOLICITY.  3 

Holy  Ghost  had  given  commandments  unto  the  apostles  whom  he  had 
chosen  : 

3.  To  whom  also  he  shewed  himself  alive  after  his  passion  [literally, 
after  he  had  suffered]  by  many  infallible  [there  is  no  word  in  the  Greek 
answering  to  infallible]  proofs,  being  seen  of  them  forty  days  [the  only 
passage  which  gives  the  time  between  the  Resurrection  and  the  Ascension] 
and  speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God  [the  whole 
Christian  dispensation]  ; 

4.  And,  being  assembled  together  with  them,  commanded  them  that 
they  should  not  depart  from  Jerusalem,  but  wait  for  the  promise  of  the 
Father,  which,  saith  he,  ye  have  heard  of  me. 

5.  For  John  truly  baptized  with  water  ;  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence. 

6.  When  they  therefore  were  come  together,  they  asked  of  him,  saying. 
Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?  [More 
literally.  Art  thou  restoring  ?] 

7.  And  he  said  unto  them,  It  is  not  for  you  [your  part]  to  know  the 
times  or  the  seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own  power  [ap- 
pomted  by  his  own  authority]. 

8.  But  ye  shall  receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon 
you  :  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me  [the  key-note  of  the  whole  book] 
both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  utter- 
most part  of  the  earth. 

9.  And  when  he  had  spoken  these  things,  while  they  beheld,  he  was 
taken  up  ;  and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight  [a  circumstance  not 
recorded  by  Matthew  or  John]. 

THE  BEGINNING   OP  APOSTOLICITY. 

IT  is  supposed  that  the  man  who  wrote  this  record  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles  was  the  author  of  the  third  gospel — Luke. 
It  would  appear  as  if  the  gospel  and  this  record  also  were  made 
rather  as  private  memoranda  than  written  as  public  documents. 
This  would  seem  to  be  addressed  to  one  man  for  his  particular 
instruction  in  Christian  doctrine  and  movement.  It  is  but  another 
proof  that  this  is  God's  way  of  making  himself  known  to  the  chil- 
dren of  men.  He  speaks  to  individual!;.  He  does  not  address 
the  great  seething  throng,  but  he  calls  a  man  aside  and  puts  the 
mystery  of  the  divine  purpose  into  that  man's  heart,  and  from  an 
individual  centre  there  goes  out  a  glowing  warmth,  that  fills  the 
whole  earth  with  its  gracious  ardour.  God  made  Adam,  God 
called  Abram,  God  selected  3fary  to  be  the  virgin-mother  ;  all 
through  and  through  history  God  has  called  out  the  particular 


ACTS   I.  1-9. 


individual,  the  one  person,  and  has  started  his  kingdom  oftentimes 
Irom  very  small  and  insignificant  beginnings. 

But  great  letters  cannot  be  kept  private  :  where  there  is  anything 
in  a  letter  it  burns  its  way  out.  There  are  some  letters  that  niusl 
be  published,  though  they  were  never  meant  lor  publication. 
They  exercise  a  secret  and  wonderful  power  over  the  receiver,  and 
he  says  the  whole  world  must  be  taken  into  this  confidence,  lor 
though  I  have  received  the  communication  as  addressed  to  myselt 
alone,  it  is  so  good  that  to  keep  it  back  from  others  would  amount 
to  practical  felony. 

We  cannot  hide  gospels  permanently.  What  is  in  a  letter  deter- 
mines that  letter's  fortune  :  what  is  in  a  book  and  not  what  is 
said  about  a  book,  determines  the  book's  late  in  the  long  run. 
Though  it  may  be  a  hundred  years,  yet  it  will  come  up  and  assert 
its  proper  place  in  literature  and  command  its  proper  degree  ol  the 
world's  attention.  Luke  wrote  a  long  account  of  Christ's  ministry 
to  Theophilus,  and  the  whole  world  has  Luke's  narrative  in  its  hand 
to-day  !  So  Luke  undertook  further  to  write  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  to  this  same  man  (beloved  of  God,  and  loving  God  as 
his  name  implies),  and  to-day  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  a  docu- 
ment read  in  every  school-house,  perused  by  all  students  of  church 
history,  and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  are  the  beginnings  and  the 
fundamentals  of  some  of  the  most  extraordinary  and  influential 
commonwealths  that  have  ever  claimed  the  attention  and  the 
homage  of  the  human  intellect  and  the  Christian  heart. 

With  a  hand  so  skilful  as  not  to  require  the  touch  of  mechanical 
education,  Luke  divides  the  great  life  into  two  expressive  and  all- 
inclusive  portions.  He  says  he  has  written  of  all  that  Jesus  began 
both  to  DO  and  teach.  Jesus  Christ's  life  is  divided  into  action 
and  doctrine,  miracles  and  truth,  marvellous  signs  and  more  mar- 
vellous  revelations.  All  Christian  life  admits  of  precisely  the  same 
division.  If  we  do,  but  fail  to  teach,  we  shall  oftentimes  be  but 
barren  and  unanswerable  puzzles  to  those  who  look  on.  If  we 
teach,  and  fail  to  do,  we  may  bring  upon  ourselves  the  just  imputa- 
tion of  being  theorists  and  fanatics,  at  the  best  devotional  senti- 
mentalists who  live  in  sighing  and  aspiration  and  wordy  doctrine, 
but  have  no  bone,  sinew  or  force  wherewith  to  encounter  all  the 
challenges  of  this  earthly  existence. 

And  yet  Jesus  Christ  only  began.     God  always  begins.     There 


THEOLOGY  IMMEASURABLE.  5 

can  be  no  ending  in  anything  that  God  does.  Though  it  may 
appear  to  end  in  itself,  yet  itself  is  related  to  some  other  and 
broader  self,  and  so  the  continuity  rolls  on,  in  ever-augmenting 
accretion  and  proportion,  so  that  all  God's  creations  are  but  begin- 
nings. There  are  no  conclusions  in  truth  ;  there  may  be  resting- 
places,  a  peculiar  and  practical  punctuation  of  statement,  so  that 
we  may  take  time  to  turn"  into  beneficent  action  that  which  has 
been  stated  in  revealing  terms — but  the  Book  is  never  closed, 
God's  hand  never  wrote  the  word  finis  :  though  the  Bible  be,  in 
point  of  paper  and  print,  a  measurable  quantity,  it  opens  a  revela- 
tion that  recedes  from  us  as  the  horizon  recedes  from  the  hands 
that  would  grasp  it. 

So  then  life  becomes  a  new  thing  from  this  standpoint.  Men 
talk  about  formulating  Christian  truth  :  from  my  point  of  view 
you  might  as  well  attempt  to  formulate  the  light,  or  to  formulate 
the  atmosphere.  You  cannot  formulate,  with  an  adequacy,  or 
any  approach  to  exhaustiveness,  quantities  that  are  mfinite.  There 
are  those  who  tell  us  that  we  have  organized  geology,  organized 
botany,  organized  astronomy,  therefore  why  not  have  organized 
theology  P  The  answer  is  simple,  sufficient  and  final,  because 
geology,  botany,  astronomy,  though  great  and  dazzling  terms  in 
many  of  their  phases  and  applications,  represent  finite  and  there- 
fore measiirable  <\\xz.n\\\\Q.<s,,  whereas,  theology  represents  infinite  and 
therefore  immeasurable  realities.  We  may  have  fifty  sciences  of 
theology  :  we  can  have  but  one  science  of  botany,  geology,  or 
astronomy  :  it  will  in  every  instance  grow  up  into  a  perfect  state- 
ment, because  all  the  facts  are  ascertainable,  and  all  the  results  are 
stateable  in  words — but  we  have  a  Roman  Catholic  theology,  and 
a  Protestant  theology,  and  Protestant  theology  is  divided  into  a 
hundred  sub-theologies,  showing  us  that  men  have  been  attempt- 
ing the  impossible,  and  showing  us  too,  thank  God,  that  we  are  not 
saved  by  any  theory  of  truth,  but  by  the  truth  itself,  not  by  any 
theory  of  atonement  only,  but  by  the  mystery  of  the  cross,  realis- 
able onlv  by  the  penitent  and  believing  heart. 

We  can  begin  a  theology.  In  beginning  a  theology  we  shall  do 
well,  provided  that  we  never  mistake  beginnings  for  endings.  To 
have  to  deal  with  infinite  quantities  should  challenge  our  noblest 
intellectual  ambition,  and  yet  should  chasten  us  with  the  severest 
moral  discipline.     We  are  permitted  to  suggest,  to  read  together. 


ACTS  I.  I- 


to  meet  for  common  study  and  fellowship  in  divine  inquiry,  and 
whilst  we  are  communing  with  one  another  and  with  the  common 
Spirit  of  truth,  our  hearts  will  burn  within  us,  and  we  shall  know 
that  we  have  reached  the  truth  by  the  degree  of  sacred  ardour 
which  glows  in  our  thankful  hearts.  As  to  verbal  slakmetils,  we 
may  never  agree  :  one  man  wants  one  set  of  words,  and  another 
man  says  the  words  must  all  be  enlarged,  elevated,  and  glorified  ; 
such  poor  syllables  as  these  will  never  do.  The  man  who  talks 
so  is  perfectly  right ;  words  have  not  yet  overtaken  thoughts  ;  the 
action  of  the  t7iind  is  infinitely  in  advance  of  the  action  or  the 
power  of  the  longue.  We  knozv  always  more  than  we  can  tell : 
when  we  have  uttered  the  completest  sentence  which  it  is  in  our 
power  to  formulate  and  express,  we  know  that  back  in  the  mind 
and  the  heart  are  things  we  have  not  put  into  that  sentence, 
because  no  medium  of  communication  is  exquisite  enough,  in  its 
function  and  power,  to  express  what  we  want  to  say  in  exhaustion 
of  the  meaning  which  makes  our  hearts  glow. 

So  then  we  may  well  be  charitable  one  with  another.  If  Jesus 
only  began  both  to  do  and  to  teach,  we  can  only  do  the  same,  and 
according  to  the  measure  of  inspiration  he  may  grant.  I  enlarge 
this  word  begajt  in  this  sentence  into  more  than  its  merely 
mechanical  meaning  :  perchance  by  somewhat  of  an  accommoda- 
tion I  may  seize  the  suggestion  of  this  wondrous  word,  and  if  I 
happen  to  draw  some  of  you  from  stubborn  conclusions,  so  as  to 
give  you  to  see  they  are  only  feeble  beginnings,  though  I  may  have 
impoverished  you  on  the  one  hand,  I  ought  to  have  stimulated 
you  on  the  other.  No  man  has  the  whole  truth.  The  Book  itself 
is  not  a  full  grown  garden,  it  is  a  seed-house,  a  storehouse  of 
roots.  We  have  to  plant  the  root,  sow  the  seed,  and  look  upon 
the  wondrous  issue  of  fruitfulness  and  beauty.  "  If  I  speak  with 
the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not  charity,  it  prof- 
iteth  me  nothing." 

We  are  all  beginners.  The  old  grey-haired  student  lifts  up  his 
wrinkled  brow  from  the  glowing  page  and  says,  "  I  have  hardly 
begun  it."  Who  then  are  we,  fifty  years  his  juniors,  who  should 
start  up  and  say,  "We  have  reached  the  goal,  there  is  nothing 
beyond,  we  have  put  out  our  staff  and  struck  the  final  granite  ?" 
Let  us  "grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Chribt. "     Let  us  not  count  ourselves  to  have  attained,  or  to  be 


GIVING    COMMANDMENTS. 


already  perfect,  but  let  us  press  forward  towards  the  mark  for  the 
prize  of  our  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  ever  say, 
humbly,  lovingly,  and  hopefully,  "God  hath  yet  more  light  and 
truth  to  bring  forth  from  his  holy  word." 

Notice  here  that  though  Jesus  Christ  both  began  to  do  and  to 
teach,  he  made  his  beginnings  have  all  the  force  attd  urgency  of 
complete  endings.  He  gave  commandments  unto  the  apostles  whom 
he  had  chosen  :  he  did  not  offer  mere  suggestions — never  did 
Jesus  Christ  say,  ' '  I  offer  these  instructions  for  your  considera- 
tion :  you  can  adopt  or  reject  them  according  to  your  own  finding 
on  further  inquiry.  Jesus  Christ  was  never  less  than  roj'a/,  never 
did  the  Son  of  Man  speak  ambiguously  or  incompletely  ;  he 
spoke  finally,  royally,  commandingly.  "A  new  commandment 
give  I  unto  you. "  "Ye  are  my  friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I 
command  you."  He  commanded  the  apostles.  The  Lord  can- 
not merely  suggest ;  Paul  will  come  with  his  pathetic  suggestions, 
begging  the  Lord's  pardon  if  he  be  wrong  in  making  them — but  in 
Christ's  speech  there  are  no  parentheses,  they  shoot  right  out  of 
mind  and  heart  and  mouth  with  the  completeness  and  finality  of 
positive  injunctions. 

We  are  then  the  slaves  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  are  none 
other  than  the  Lord's  captives  and  therefore  the  Lord's  freemen. 
We  do  not  make  the  commandments,  we  obey  them- — -we  are  not  as 
those  who  walk  under  the  loose  rule  of  mere  license,  we  are  men 
who  are  bound  to  a  centre,  kept  within  the  limits  of  a  specific 
moral  gravitation,  and  we  have  come  to  know  this  mystery,  that 
there  is  no  liberty  without  law,  that  life  without  law  is  chaos,  that 
life  with  law,  loyally  accepted  and  obediently  realised,  becomes  a 
continual  stewardship,  a  holy  sacrifice,  an  everlasting  beginning, 
passing  on  to  increasing  satisfactions,  as  the  capacity  of  the  soul 
enlarges. 

With  the  skill  of  a  scribe  well  instructed,  Luke  puts  into  his 
third  verse  a  whole  library  of  Christian  evidence,  so  that  Theoph- 
ilus  his  correspondent  may  be  under  no  mistake  as  to  what  is 
called  amongst  us,  the  missing  link.  In  the  third  verse  Luke 
says,  "Jesus  Christ  showed  himself  alive  after  his  passion,  to  his 
apostles,  by  many  infallible  proofs,  being  seen  of  them  forty  days, 
and  speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God." 
In  Luke's  mind  there  was  no  doubt  about  the  Resurrection  :  Luke 


8  ACTS  I.  1-9. 

was  not  a  man  -who  had  a  paid  cause  to  subserve  ;  Luke  was 
not  entrusted  with  a  brief  for  the  purpose  of  defending  a  case 
about  which  he  had  some  latent  doubt  or  difficulty.  Luke 
behaves  himself  like  a  frank-hearted  and  honest  man  who  has  a 
very  simple  statement  to  make,  and  who  makes  it  on  the  authority 
of  his  own  observation,  consciousness  and  experience. 

The  ring  of  honesty  is  in  that  third  verse.  Beautifully  does  it 
bring  in  the  subject  of  our  Lord's  speech  to  the  apostles,  "  speak- 
ing," says  Luke,  "  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of 
God."  Jesus  Christ  had  but  one  subject.  You  never  had  to  ask 
what  Jesus  Christ  was  preaching  about  :  he  was  not  a  preacher 
with  a  million  texts  or  a  million  subjects  :  he  was  a  preacher  with 
one  theme,  one  utterance,  but  like  the  one  sky,  an  eternal  variety. 
We  have  been  accustomed  through  our  studies  of  the  gospel 
according  to  Matthew,  to  the  expression,  "  the  kingdom  of  God." 
We  ourselves  could  have  supplied  that  ending  to  this  verse  of  the 
record.  Jesus  Christ  never  talked  about  anything  less  than  a  hi7ig- 
dom,  a  kingdom  that  rose  above  all  other  empires  and  masteries 
and  enclosed  and  included  them  in  its  infinite  sovereignty. 

What  Jesus  Christ  said  to  the  disciples  or  apostles  in  those  fare- 
well days  we  must  learn  from  the  apostles  themselves.  Let  us 
understand  that  apostolic  life  is  but  a  coniinualion  of  the  Lord's 
own  life.  If  the  apostles  are  faithful  men,  their  word  will  be 
Christ's  word  :  he  promised  to  tell  them  more  ;  said  he  upon  one 
memorable  occasion,  "  I  have  many  things  to  say  to  you,  but  ye 
cannot  bear  them  now."  He  carried  the  burden  till  they  were 
old  enough  and  strong  enough  to  take  it  up.  He  always  has  some 
larger  burden  to  transfer  to  us,  but  he  will  never  transfer  it  till  our 
strength  be  equal  to  the  occasion.  Apostolic  life  will  show  us 
more  of  Christ's  meaning  than  could  be  conveyed  within  the  limits 
of  the  four  gospels.  This  gives  you  a  new  standard  by  which  to 
value  the  apostolic  writings.  Let  us  not  suppose  that  apostolic 
writings  are  mere  individual  speculaliotts,  or  personal  comments 
ui)on  a  great  mystery.  Apostolic  literature  is  as  much  a  revelation 
as  is  the  evangelic  biography  of  the  Lord  himself. 

When  the  disciples  or  apostles  were  assembled  together,  they 
came  to  Jesus  and  said,  "Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore 
again  the  kingdom  to  Israel  T'  They  never  could  get  away  from 
their  little  "  kingdom"  any  more  than  Christ  could  detach  himself 


SAME  WORDS  BUT  NOT  SAME  MEANINGS.  9 

from  his  great  royalty.  They  were  all  thinking  about  ' '  king- 
doms, ' '  but  the  kingdom  of  the  one  was  a  little  vanishing  splen- 
dour, the  kingdom  of  the  other  was  the  whole  universe  and 
purpose  of  God.  So  we  often  find  ourselves  talking  Christian 
language  without  the  full  Christian  meaning.  Sometimes,  indeed, 
the  terms  we  use  are  identical  with  the  terms  Jesus  Christ  used, 
and  yet,  though  the  terms  are  identical,  the  meanitigs  are  separated 
by  the  diameter  of  infinity.  Jesus  Christ  said  "bread" — we 
also  said  "  bread,"  but  we  did  not  mean  what  he  meant  by  that 
suggestive  word.  Jesus  Christ  said  "  kingdom,"  and  we  said 
"kingdom" — in  the  letter  we  were  identical,  but  our  kingdom, 
like  ourselves,  was  a  little  thing,  marked  by  extreme  frailty,  liable 
at  any  moment  to  be  blown  out  like  a  light  in  a  strong  wind. 
When*  he  said  "  kingdom"  he  laid  the  foundations  of  it  in  eternity 
and  lifted  up  its  towers  and  pinnacles  into  all  the  breadth  and 
security  of  Heaven. 

Do  let  us  understand  that  the  same  words  have  not  always  the  same 
meanitigs,  and  further,  do  let  us  know  that  the  larger  meaning  is 
always  the  right  one.  A  narrow  meaning  has  always  been 
attempted  to  be  forced  upon  Christ's  words,  but  the  meaning  has 
burst  the  vessel  and  would  not  be  contained  in  such  unworthy, 
because  such  inadequate,  limits.  Herein  is  the  function  of  the 
religious  imagination,  always  to  be  seeing  the  broader  spaces,  the 
farther  lights,  the  grander  possibilities — always  to  be  scourging 
language,  because  it  is  not  equal  to  the  expression  of  the  sublimest 
thought  and  feeling. 

Yet  Jesus  Christ  chided  the  apostles  very  gently.  He  told  them 
in  his  very  promise  that  they  were  as  yet  incomplete  men.  He 
said,  "  Ye  shall  receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come 
upon  you."  They  were  unbaptised  in  J(7«/ ,•  the  symbolic  water  had 
done  its  initial  work,  but  they  stood  there  without  the  sacred  fire, 
the  inspiring  afflatus,  the  presence  of  Heaven  in  the  heart.  May 
it  not  be  so  with  some  of  us  .?  We  have  been  the  subjects  of  but 
one  baptism  :  we  are  within  the  Christian  circle  nominally,  and  it 
may  be  intellectually,  but  have  we  received  power  from  on  high 
because  we  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost }  What  is  the  Holy 
Ghost }  To  that  inquiry  there  is  no  answer  but  in  the  deepest 
feeling  and  the  sublimest  consciousness  of  the  heart.  Know  that 
you  have  the  Holy  Ghost,  not  by  your  narrowness  or  dogmatism 


ACTS  I.  1-9. 


or  pertinacity  or  selfishness,  but  by  your  glowing  love,  your  redeem- 
ing hopefulness,  your  continual  charily,  your  indestructible  patience. 
Into  what  baptism  have  we  been  baptised  ?  We  have  not 
received  the  Holy  Ghost  if  we  are  conducting  a  narrow  ministry, 
Jesus  Christ  said  so  much  when  he  added,  "  Ye  shall  be  witnesses 
both  in  Jerusalem  and  in  all  Judea  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth."  No  power  but  the  Holy  Ghost 
could  take  a  man  through  those  regions.  The  man  who  has  been 
baptized  with  water  only  will  choose  his  own  parish  and  sphere  of 
labour  and  circle  of  operation,  but  the  man  in  whom  is  the  burn- 
ing of  the  Holy  Ghost  will  say  with  Wesley,  "  My  parish  is  the 
world,"  and  will  be  constrained  by  the  love  of  Christ  to  go  out 
everywhere.  The  ministry  that  is  called  by  the  name  of  Christ 
will  be  a  dwindling  quantity  in  the  world's  education,  except  in 
proportion  as  it  is  inspired  by  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Have  we  not  grieved  the  Spirit,  have  we  not  in  some  instances 
even  quenched  the  Spirit,  is  there  not  now  ruling  in  our  hearts  the 
dark  spirit  oi/ear  instead  of  the  bright  and  joyous  spirit  of  adop- 
tion and  of  hope  ?  You  will  know  whether  you  are  inspired  or 
not  by  the  vashiess  0/ your  labours.  If  we  are  waiting  until  we  be 
properly  equipped  and  duly  sent  out,  then  know  that  we  have 
been  baptized  with  ice.  If  we  go  out  with  the  haste  of  men  who 
say,  "  The  world  is  on  fire,  and  the  conflagration  must  be  extin- 
guished," perhaps  that  grand  notion  of  the  soul  may  have  been 
divinely  started. 

We  now  pass  from  the  visible  ministry  of  Christ  to  the  invisible 
ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Jesus  Christ  spake  his  last  words  to 
the  apostles,  and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight.  Nothing 
more — only  out  of  sight.  Not  out  of  hearing,  not  out  of  sympathy, 
not  out  of  the  region  of  direct  and  ever  helpful  ministry — only  out 
of  sight.  We  are  not  out  of  his  sight.  We  want  sometimes  to  see 
him,  but  he  says  to  us,  "  Because  ye  have  seen  me,  ye  have 
believed  :  blessed  are  they  which  have  not  seen  and  yet  have 
believed."  "Whom  having  not  seen,  we  love. "  We  shall  one 
day  see  him  as  he  is.  He  is  out  of  our  sight :  we  are  not  out  of 
his  memory! 


II. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  as  men  run  into  a  fortress  for  safety,  so  would  we  run 
into  thine  house,  that  we  may  find  rest  and  peace  and  full  security.  We 
have  said,  Surely  the  sanctuary  will  cover  us,  and  the  pavilion  of  God 
will  afford  us  safety  upon  the  earth.  Thou  wilt  not  disappoint  us,  in 
thine  house  shall  we  find  fulness  of  bread,  and  great  gladness  shall  be  the 
portion  of  the  hearts  that  put  their  trust  in  thee.  Thou  wilt  do  more  and 
more  for  us,  according  to  the  sharpness  of  our  pain  and  the  keenness  and 
urgency  of  our  want.  Thou  dost  call  upon  us  for  larger  prayers,  because 
our  supplications  have  not  yet  touched  the  mfinite  possibilities  of  thy 
replies.  Thou  givestmore  grace,  thou  dost  astonish  by  larger  revelations 
of  shining  light.  We  cannot  measure  the  height  of  thy  heaven,  it  rises  as 
we  approach  it :  the  heaven  and  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain 
thee,  and  yet  in  answer  to  our  prayer  thou  wilt  open  the  windows  of 
heaven  and  pour  out  a  blessing  upon  us,  until  we  have  not  room  enough 
to  receive  it.  Encourage  us  by  all  that  is  tenderest  in  thine  oath,  and  in 
thy  promise,  to  come  to  thee  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  that 
we  may  ask  large  blessings  at  thine  hand.  We  have  not  because  we  ask 
not :  we  are  not  straitened  in  God,  we  are  straitened  in  ourselves.  We 
come  therefore  to  pray  for  such  self-enlargement  as  shall  enable  us  to  pray 
more  boldly  and  importunately,  so  that  through  Jesus  Christ  the  Sacrifice 
and  the  Priest,  we  may  receive  all  that  our  heart  needs  for  its  comfort  and 
sanctification. 

We  have  come  to  praise  thee,  we  have  brought  with  us  the  trumpet  of 
thankfulness,  and  the  soul  of  gratitude  glows  within  us,  and  words  are 
too  few  and  too  feeble  to  express  all  the  emotion  of  our  love.  Who  but 
thyself  has  kept  our  reasoning  power  in  all  its  fulness  and  power  of  work- 
ing— what  hand  but  thine  own  has  spread  our  table  in  the  wilderness  and 
filled  our  cup  to  overflow,  and  into  what  heart  but  thine  could  have 
entered  such  thoughts  of  daily  redemption,  continual  pardon  and  inces- 
sant hopefulness  ?  This  is  the  Lord's  doing  •  we  will  magnify  thy  name, 
we  will  lift  up  our  heart  and  voice  in  loud  psalm,  and  praise  thee  because 
of  thy  tender  love. 

We  do  not  live  in  ourselves,  we  live  in  God,  and  in  God  we  move  and 
have  our  being.  Hence  our  prayer  to  thee,  our  daily  cry,  our  perpetual 
hope,  and  the  assurance  which  makes  our  hearts  glad,  that  we  shall  one 
day  be  free  from  all  bondage  and  enter  into  the  joy  of  spiritual  liberty. 
We  have  great  hopes  in  our  heart  :  we  are  not  without  large  store  of 


12  PR  A  YER. 


promise,  and  sometimes  the  promise  takes  fire  and  burns  upward  toward 
thyself  in  glowing  and  daring  aspiration,  so  that  our  prayer  becomes  a 
violence,  thundering  upon  the  gates  of  thy  kingdom  as  if  we  would  take 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  by  storm.  Is  not  this  Christ's  encouragement  to 
our  heart — has  he  not  asked  us  to  seek  and  knock  and  pursue  our  prayer 
to  its  utmost  bound  and  desire  ?  We  take  our  stand  upon  his  word,  his 
oath  is  the  secret  of  our  inspiration  and  of  the  gravity  and  vastness  of  our 
prayer. 

We  would  have  thy  Spirit  daily  in  us,  a  light  that  is  never  a  burden,  an 
atmosphere  that  never  wearies  the  heart.  We  would  have  his  light,  his 
warmth,  his  comfort  and  his  love,  we  would  be  led  by  him  into  all  truth 
as  into  great  landscapes  rich  with  harvests,  as  into  infinite  palaces  stored 
with  all  treasure,  as  into  the  night  when  all  its  stars  are  ablaze,  and  the 
whole  sky  is  aiive  with  planetary  fire. 

Lead  us  into  all  truth.  To  this  end,  destroy  all  prejudice,  all  miscon- 
ception, all  false  ideas,  all  sectarian  notions  .  emancipate  the  soul  and 
lead  it  into  all  the  width  and  glory  of  thy  liberty.  We  meet  at  the  Cross 
— where  there  is  hope  for  the  sinning  soul.  The  cross  was  set  up  for 
sinners  :  but  for  sin,  the  cross  has  no  meaning :  it  is  thy  great  answer  to 
our  great  shame.  Pardon  us  every  one.  Let  the  joy  of  forgiveness  enter 
into  every  heart  like  a  singing  angel  newly  sent  from  the  glad  heavens. 
May  we  all  feel  that  thy  forgiving  word  has  been  spoken  and  has  taken 
effect  in  our  guilty  hearts. 

Help  us  to  do  our  day's  work  with  both  hands,  willingly  and  earnestly, 
and  with  all  the  joyful  hopefulness  of  those  who  work  for  a  good  Master. 
May  we  be  covetous  of  the  light,  may  we  fear  lest  one  moment  should 
fail  us — so  when  the  whole  day  is  gone,  may  every  moment  bear  witness 
to  our  fidelity.  Help  us  to  be  gentle  to  one  another,  noble-minded,  char- 
itable, all-hopeful,  all-forgiving.  Show  us  that  we  are  not  judges  but  sin- 
ners, that  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another  in  the  common  infirmities 
of  the  race,  and  should  bear,  in  Christ's  name  and  for  Christ's  sake,  one 
another's  burdens. 

We  pray  for  one  another,  and  whilst  we  pray  do  thou  answer,  and  by 
a  strange  burning  in  the  heart  may  we  know  that  thy  reply  has  found  its 
way  to  our  spirits.  Comfort  us  wherein  we  need  cheer,  send  unexpected 
light  through  gloom  that  is  a  trouble,  come  to  us  in  the  night  season  and 
speak  hopefully  of  the  coming  day.  In  the  seed  time,  tell  us  that  that 
which  we  sow,  cannot  quicken  except  it  die  ;  interpret  all  mysteries  to  us 
lest  they  turn  into  temptations  and  sorrows,  give  us  thy  truth  so  far  as  we 
may  be  able  to  bear  it,  and  spare  us  from  all  weight  that  would  distress 
and  exhaust  our  little  strength.  Love  us  all  the  day,  gather  us  to  thyself 
all  the  night,  make  our  houses  homes,  our  dwelling-places  the  chief  attrac- 
tion of  our  heart. 

We  bless  thee  for  the  house,  for  all  its  sanctities  and  memories  and 
holy  uses  :  help  us  so  to  live  at  home  that  men  shall  expect  us  there  and 
miss  us  when  our  place  is  vacant.     If  any  have  singular  sorrow  for  which 


FAREWELL   INTERVIEWS.  13 

there  is  no  speech  that  may  be  uttered  in  public,  the  Lord  send  comfort, 
tender  messages  to  those  who  bear  the  smart,  they  that  too  may  be  healed 
in  secret.  Upon  whom  great  shocks  of  surprise  have  fallen  because  of 
sorrow  uncalculated,  and  pains  that  have  been  unimagined,  let  thy  bless- 
ing come,  a  healing  solace,  a  new.  tender,  and  complete  comfort. 
The  Lord  hear  us,  for  Christ's  sake.     Amen. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  APOSTOLIOITY. 
Acts  i.  1-9. 

{Continuation.') 
HO  could  have  told  beforehand  that  Jesus  Christ  would  be 


w 


the  first  to  go }  It  did  not  enter  our  imagination  that 
he  would  leave  us  behind,  and  that  he  himself  would  pass  away 
from  all  the  anxiety  and  distress  of  Christian  service.  Our  con- 
ception would  rather  have  been  that  he  would  be  the  very  last  to 
go  :  he  would  remain  until  the  last  little  lamb  had  been  safely 
enfolded  :  he  would  keep  down  within  the  sphere  of  earth  and 
time  until  the  very  last  weary  pilgrim  entered  into  heavenly  rest. 
Instead  of  this,  he  himself  was  the  first  to  leave  !  Not  only  so, 
he  told  his  disciples  that  by  leaving  first,  he  was  actually  consider- 
ing their  advantage  and  promoting  their  usefulness  !  "  It  is 
expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away.  I  do  not  go  away  for  mere 
personal  convenience  ;  in  going  away  I  am  not  consulting  my  own 
ease  or  comfort  :  now,  as  heretofore,  and  always,  I  am  considering 
what  is  best  ioxyou.  To  remain  with  you  would  appear  to  be  the 
loving  course,  but  it  would  be  in  appearance  only  and  not  in 
reality.  One  day  you  will  see  clearly  as  I  see  now,  that  it  is 
expedient  for  you  that  1  go  away. 

Being  about  to  go,  the  last  interview  between  himself  and  the 
apostles  took  place.  Last  interviews  are  notably  pathetic.  The 
words  that  would  be  common  on  any  other  occasion  acquire  a  new 
and  significant  accent  amid  the  darkening  shadows  of  a  farewell 
interview.  Litde  things  that  would  not  be  noticed  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  start  up  into  unusual  prominence  and  effect  when 
we  know  that  the  interview  will  speedily  close,  and  that  all  earthly 
and  temporal  fellowship  will  be  at  an  end.  We  should  always 
listen  as  if  in  a  last  interview.  ' '  What  1  say  unto  one,  I  say  unto 
all — watch. ' '  We  should  never  allow  our  mind  to  drop  into  inat- 
tentiveness,   as  if  we  should  have  plenty  of  opportunities  for  the 


ACTS  I.  1-9. 


purpose  of  hearing  what  now  slips  our  ear.  Every  day  should  be 
the  world's  last  day  to  us  in  this  matter  of  spiritual  attention. 
Every  interview  should  be  the  final  one  with  regard  to  the  opera- 
tion of  the  spirit  of  charity  in  hearing  what  each  other  has  to  say. 
We  lose  so  much  through  inattentiveness  ;  we  do  not  listen  in  the 
open  common  road  as  we  listen  in  the  death-chamber,  when  every 
whisper  is  as  a  revelation  and  every  sign  as  an  indication  carrying 
with  it  special  claims  upon  the  attention  of  our  love.  We  lose  by 
unwatchfulness. 

Jesus  Christ  is  about  to  go — how  will  he  go  ?  I  delight  to  pause 
after  asking  this  question,  that  I  may  think  out  for  myself  all 
possible  replies  to  it.  How  will  he  go  .-*  He  cannot  be  allowed 
to  die  :  that  would  be  a  fatal  disappointment  to  the  attention  which 
he  has  strained  by  every  miracle  and  to  the  expectation  he  has 
excited  by  every  accent  of  his  eloquence.  Dogs  die  :  this  Man 
must  not  die,  or  if  he  die  he  will  contradict  by  one  pitiful  com- 
monplace, all  that  was  phenomenal  and  impressive  in  his  life. 
Haw  will  he  go  .?  Luke  tells  us  that  he  was  "  taken  up."  In 
other  places  we  learn  that  he  "ascended."  He  entered  within 
the  action  of  another  gravitation,  and  instead  of  being  bound  to 
the  earth  by  some  centripetal  force,  he  was  lifted  up  as  by  a 
mightier  law  into  his  own  place,  and  throned  in  the  heavens  as 
the  Priest  of  creation.  It  is  enough  :  the  mind  is  satisfied  by  the 
grand  action  ;  nothing  of  discontent  is  left  to  trouble  the  imagi- 
nation. Were  I  reading  this  upon  s.  poet' s  page,  I  would  applaud 
the  poet  for  one  of  the  finest  conceptions  that  ever  ennobled  and 
glorified  human  fancy.  He  would  have  treated  his  hero  well. 
With  an  infinite  subtlety  of  power  he  would  have  answered  all  the 
demands  of  imagination  in  its  most  exacting  mood. 

Jesus  Christ  then  "  ascended,"  and  in  doing  so,  he  but  repeated 
in  one  final  act  all  the  miracles  which  had  made  his  previous 
ministry  illustrious.  The  act  of  ascension  does  not  separate  itself 
from  any  point  on  the  long  line  of  the  life  and  ministry  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  ascension  became  so  natural  that  we  paid  but  little 
heed  to  it  in  its  merely  phenomenal  aspect.  We  were  not  startled 
when  we  saw  him  begin  to  move  upward  :  our  education  had  all 
been  tending  in  that  direction  ;  from  the  very  beginning  he  had 
been  ascending,  so  that  when  he  took  the  final  movement,  it  was 
but  completing  that  which  he  had  been  continuing  for  years. 


LIFE  DETERMINES  DEATH.  15 


Our  life  should  be  an  ascent  I  We  should  not  be  to-day  where 
we  were  ten  years  ago.  Not  that  we  are  to  ascend  by  sharp  steeps 
that  attract  the  attention  of  mankind  with  somewhat  of  abruptness  : 
there  are  ascents  so  gradual  that  they  do  not  seem  to  be  ascents  at 
all,  measured  within  any  small  compass  of  space  or  time.  Yet 
looked  at  as  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  we  see  that  the  gradi- 
ent has  evermore  lifted  itself  up  by  imperceptibleness  of  degree 
until  the  very  next  thing  to  do  is  to  step  into  heaven  !  It  is  pos- 
sible so  to  live  that  dying  shall  be  but  going  home  :  thank  God  it 
is  possible  so  to  pray  and  live  and  serve  as  that  dying  shall  be 
languishing  into  life.  There  shall  be  no  violent  contrast  between 
the  life  and  the  death,  between  now  and  hereafter,  between 
spiritual  experience  upon  earth,  and  spiritual  experience  in  heaven. 
It  shall  be  one  and  the  same,  and  in  its  realization  we  shall  enter 
into  the  mystery  of  divine  fellowship.  We  are  in  our  life  prepar- 
ing the  manner  of  our  death.  Your  death-day  need  not  come 
upon  you  as  a  surprise  such  as  shocks  faith  and  distresses  imagina- 
tion or  falsifies  by  heavy  contradictions  all  that  was  most  sacred 
and  pathetic  in  hope.  The  judgment  day,  too,  can  be  so  antici- 
pated 2i%  to  become  as  one  of  the  natural  days  of  the  common  week  ! 
If  we  close  our  eyes  and  shut  out  wisdom  at  every  entrance  and 
betake  ourselves  to  earthly  occupations  only,  then  all  the  comings 
of  God — for  he  comes  in  thousands  of  ways — will  be  surprises  that 
will  shock  and  distress  us. 

You  may  know  how  you  will  die  by  knowing  how  you  really 
live.  If  your  life  is  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  a  heroic, 
patient,  gentle,  pure,  .noble  life,  marked  by,  at  all  events,  the 
desire  to  be  Christ-like,  then  you  shall  "  ascend."  All  that  drops 
away  from  you  will  be  the  flesh  and  the  bones,  that  have  been  a 
distress  to  you  for  many  a  day.  Your  Self  your  liberated  spirit, 
shall  ' '  ascend. ' '  Whoever  saw  fire  going  downward  }  It  is  in 
fire  to  go  up,  to  seek  the  parent  sun  out  of  which  it  came  !  We 
too,  living,  moving,  and  ever  having  our  being  in  God  shall  not 
die  as  the  dogs  die,  but  rise  to  our  fount  and  origin.  We  shall  in 
very  deed  "  rise  with  Christ." 

If  the  final  interview  was  pathetic  to  Christ,  it  was  also  pathetic 
to  the  disciples.  They  had  their  question  to  ask  as  certainly  as  he 
had  his  commandments  to  give.  So  they  came  to  him  with  this  old 
question,  "  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom 


i6  ACTS  I.  I- 


to  Israel?"  Mark  how  after  his  resurrection,  he  had  become 
"  Lord,"  and  the  restorer  of  kingdoms.  Everything  rests  upon 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  :  *'  if  Christ  be  not  risen  from  the  dead, 
then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also  vain,"  The 
great  fabric  of  Christian  faith  stands  upon  one  rock,  the  resurrection 
of  Christ.  No  matter  what  he  did,  or  what  he  taught,  or  what  he 
appeared  to  be  :  if  it  was  in  the  power  of  men  to  kill  him  in  the 
flesh,  and  to  bury  him  and  keep  him  in  the  grave,  all  his  protesta- 
tions were  lies,  and  all  his  promises  were  vanity.  Hence,  Luke 
insists  that  Jesus  Christ  "  showed  himself  alive  after  his  passion  by 
many  infallible  proofs  :  "  hence,  all  the  succeeding  apostolic 
writers  insist  that  Jesus  Christ  "  rose  again  from  the  dead,"  and 
hence  all  the  great  appeals  which  are  made  to  our  faith  and  our 
hope  rest  themselves  upon  the  one  rock  of  the  resurrection.  But 
the  inquiry  that  was  put  to  Christ  in  this  instance  was  put  to  a 
man  who  had  risen  again,  and  the  inquiry  was  this — "  Lord,  wilt 
thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel?"  There 
are  times  in  history  when  everything  seems  to  depend  upon  one 
man ;  there  are  crises  which  sum  themselves  up  in  the  judgment 
of  one  thitiker  :  we  look  to  him,  he  carries  the  keys,  he  speaks  the 
final  word,  and  from  him  we  expect  the  policy  which  alone  can 
ennoble  and  save  the  life. 

We  learn  from  this  inquiry  how  long-lingering,  how  all  but 
ineradicable,  is  the  influence  0/  first  impressions.  The  disciples  had 
got  it  into  their  minds  very  early  in  their  Christian  thinking  that 
this  Man  Christ  Jesus  had  come  to  liberate  the  Jews  from. their 
servitude  and  oppression,  and  to  give  them  back  their  lost  king- 
dom. That  was  probably  the  vqxj  first  idea  they  had  about  Jesus 
Christ  and  his  purpose,  and  they  never  could  get  rid  of  it.  What 
is  so  long-lived  as  prejudice  P  What  is  so  difficult  to  get  away  from 
as  the  first  impression  we  form  of  one  another,  of  any  policy,  pur- 
pose, thought,  or  action  ?  How  difficult  for  the  mind  to  forget 
a  first  name,  how  all  but  impossible  to  substitute  the  new  address 
for  the  old,  how  difficult  for  the  hand  in  January  to  write  the  new 
year — the  fingers  seem  to  conspire  to  write  again  the  familiar  date. 
What  we  know  by  this  common  illustration,  we  may  also  know  to 
be  true  of  all  higher  intellectual  and  spiritual  meditations  and 
engagements.  Therefore  take  care  what  impression  you  make 
upon  the  young  mind  about  the  Christian  Sabbath,   the  Christian 


THE  GIFT  OF  POWER.  17 

Book,  the  Christian  Church,  and  the  Christian  idea  in  all  its  bear- 
ings. Who  can  wonder  that  some  men  hardly  can  open  the  Bible 
with  sympathy  or  hopefulness,  because  they  remember  that  in 
early  days  it  was  the  task-book.  Are  there  not  those  who  quite 
dread  the  idea  of  going  to  church,  because  that  action  is  associated 
in  their  mind  with  early  impressions  of  gloom  and  dreariness  and 
heaviness  not  to  be  borne  ?  Was  not  the  church  in  early  days  a 
dark  place,  and  was  not  the  minister  a  man  gifted  only  with  the 
one  faculty  of  wearying  those  who  paid  attention  to  him  ;  and  was 
not  the  whole  Sabbath  a  trouble  and  a  burden  ?  Had  it  been 
associated  with  light,  music,  gladness,  joy,  the  memory  of  those 
early  engagements  would  have  gone  right  through  all  the  whole 
compass  of  the  life,  and  at  the  last  the  pilgrim  would  have  said, 
"  Open  unto  me  the  gates  of  righteousness  :  I  will  enter  into  them 
and  will  be  glad." 

The  answer  of  Jesus  Christ  seems  to  be  very  keen  and  discourag- 
ing in  its  tone  of  chiding.  Said  he,  "It  is  not  for  you  to 
know  the  time  or  the  seasons  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  his 
own  power,"  The  words  may  be  read  in  a  tone  of  rebuke,  but 
they  were  not  spoken  in  that  tone.  You  cannot  report  a  iojte — 
hence  it  is  possible  to  express  the  very  words  the  speaker  said  and 
yet  entirely  to  misreprescttt  him  !  Feaiiires  can  be  photographed, 
but  life  will  not  submit  to  have  itself  taken  by  any  artist,  animate 
or  inanimate.  Jesus  Christ  spoke  those  words  in  a  tone  that  was 
insirtidwe,  and  he  immediately  followed  those  words  of  apparent 
rebuke  with  utterances  of  the  largest  and  tenderest  encouragement. 
The  poet  speaks  of  "  soft  rebukes  in  blessings  ending" — if  there 
was  any  rebuke  at  all  in  those  words,  it  was  indeed  a  soft  chiding, 
but  there  was  no  mistake  about  the  compass  and  the  emphasis  of 
i\\Q  blessing.  The  eighth  verse  says  :  "  But  ye  shall  receive  power, 
after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you. ' '  There  is  no  gift 
equal  to  the  gift  of  power.  You  may  answer  a  man's  question 
immediately,  but  unless  you  give  him  power  you  do  but  give  him 
a  meal  for  the  passing  hunger  which  will  certainly  return.  When 
a  man  in  distress  comes  to  you,  if  instead  of  answering  his  imme- 
diate necessity,  you  could  give  him  power  to  answer  his  ozv?i,  you 
would  bestow  upon  him  the  most  precious  of  all  treasures. 

The  gift  of  Christ  to  the  church  is  a  gift  of  POWER — not  in/el- 
lectual  power  only,  though  that  is  not  withheld  :  Jesus  Christ  has 


i8  ACTS  I.  1-9. 


illumined  our  reason  and  sharpened  every  faculty  of  the  mind, 
and  blessed  the  church  with  penetrating  insight — but  that  is  not 
the  power  referred  to  in  this  instance.  Nor  did  he  give  merely 
social  power  to  his  church — the  power  that  is  usually  associated 
with  the  idea  of  kingdom,  rule,  and  empire,  and  authority.  What 
power  then  did  he  give  ?  The  power  of  holiness — ' '  after  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you."  Know  yourselves  to  be  power- 
ful by  the  measure  of  your  holiness,  and  contrariwise  know  your- 
selves to  be  weak,  though  your  mind  covers  the  whole  register  of 
intellectual  possibility,  if  the  supreme  desire  of  the  soul  burn  not 
with  the  ardour  of  God's  own  purity. 

We  have  lost  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  betake  ourselves  now  to  church 
questions  and  not  to  soul  inquiries.  The  problem  of  to-day  is  a 
problem  of  ecclesiasticism,  it  is  not  a  problem  of  redeemijig  and 
evangelizing  the  world.  We  are  building  structures,  arranging 
mechanics,  adapting  means  to  ends,  comparing  ourselves  with 
ourselves,  instead  of  being  carried  away  with  the  whirlwind  of 
divine  inspiration,  and  displaying  what  the  world  would  call 
supreme  madness  in  consecration  and  devotion  of  heart.  Into  what 
baptism  have  we  been  baptized  }  Where  is  the  Holy  Ghost .' 
Where  is  the  Ghost  at  all — the  Spirit,  the  Invisible,  the  Impalpable 
truth,  the  infinite  Energy,  the  Force  that  has  no  shapijig,  because 
of  its  vastness,  and  no  7tanie  because  of  its  multitudinousness .-'  A 
grand  church,  a  learned  church,  a  rich  church — these  may  be  but 
contradictions  in  terms,  but  a  holy  church,  an  inspired  church,  a 
devoted  church,  a  church  with  one  heart,  one  aim,  one  speech  of 
love — why,  she  would  go  forth  "  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the 
sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners."  The  world  can 
answer  our  argument,  so  at  least  as  to  confuse  the  listener,  but  it 
can  have  no  reply  to  an  unimpeachable  purity. 

The  power  which  Jesus  Christ  gave  to  his  disciples  was  a  power 
that  was  to  be  used.  When  he  puts  the  staff  into  my  hand,  he 
means  me  to  walk  with  it  ;  when  he  gives  me  opportunities,  he 
means  me  to  use  them  ;  when  he  entrusts  me  with  the  custody 
of  time,  it  is  that  I  may  so  use  it  as  at  last  to  secure  his  approval. 
So  this  power  was  to  be  used  gradually — "  Ye  shall  be  witnesses 
unto  me  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria  and 
unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth."  Do  not  begin  at  the  end  : 
grow,  little  by  little,  often  mayhap  by  imperceptible  degrees,  but 


NO  LITTLE-MINDED   CHRISTIANS.  19 

see  to  it  that  your  motion  is  constant.  It  is  constancy  that  sur- 
prises the  world  by  its  conquests.  .  It  is  not  some  great  brilliant 
dashing  triumph  that  strikes  consternation  into  the  breasts  of 
beholders,  it  is  that  subtle,  quiet,  imperceptible  growth,  that  pro- 
ceeds night  and  day,  until  a  culmination  is  reached  that  surprises 
not  by  its  violence  but  by  its  completeness  and  by  the  tenderness 
of  its  working. 

The  power  was  to  be  used  enlargingly,  from  Jerusalem  to  Judea, 
to  Samaria,  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  until  there  was  no 
more  ground  to  be  covered, — until,  the  men  came  back  again  to 
their  own  footprints  !  You  go  to  the  west  :  go  on,  farther  and 
farther  still,  and  presently  you  will  find  yourselves  in  the  east 
again  !  God's  universe  is  a  gathering  of  circles  :  the  stars  are 
not  in  straight  lines,  there  are  no  straight  lines  in  God' s  universe  ! 
He  moves  himself  in  circles,  iwie  is  a  great  cycle  ;  the  arch  of  the 
sky  is  the  type  and  symbol  of  all  things  unseen. 

This  is  our  Christian  mission,  and  nothing  so  enlarges  and 
emboldens  the  mind  as  sympathy  with  Christ.  There  can  be  no 
little-minded  Christians,  or  if  there  are,  they  are  Christians  in  the 
very  earliest  stage  of  their  learning,  and  therefore  hardly  to  be  dis- 
tinguished as  such.  The  Christian  man  cannot  be  a  small- 
minded  man  :  he  brings  within  his  view  the  whole  horizon  of 
space,  and  every  throbbing  pulse  of  time.  Find  a  sectarian  and 
you  find  no  Christian  ;  pick  out  a  man  who  says  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  ends  here  and  does  not  go  over  there,  and  he  is  a  man  who 
has  stolen  his  position  in  the  sanctuary  ;  he  does  not  hold  it  by 
right  of  divine  gift  or  election. 

All  Christians  are  great  men,  great  souls,  great  minds  ;  all  who 
are  crucified  with  Christ  see  all  men  drawn  to  the  cross.  Chris- 
tianity never  bends  the  head  downward  towards  little  and  dwindling 
spaces  :  it  always  says,  "  The  world,  the  whole  world,  for  Christ. 
Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature. 
If  men  would  have  their  minds  enlarged,  ennobled,  emboldened, 
inspired,  they  can  only  enjoy  such  mental  enlargements  and 
quickening  by  direct  sympathy  and  fellowship  with  him  who  is  the 
head  of  all  things,  who  fills  all  things,  who  ascended  that  he  might 
rule  by  a  longer  line  and  by  a  more  comprehensive  mastery. 

Have  we  so  learned  Christ .?  Are  we  little,  crippled,  sect-loving 
— are  we  bigoted,  narrow  in  soul,   lame  in  sympathy,  prejudiced 


ACTS  I. 


against  other  people  ?  "  If  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and 
of  angels,  and  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth  me  nothing. ' '  Know 
that  you  are  growing  in  grace  when  you  are  growing  in  charity. 
Know  that  you  are  right,  when  you  are  right  in  heart.  A  right 
head  coupled  with  a  wrong  heart  is  capable  of  doing  infinite  mis- 
chief. When  the  heart  is  right,  when  the  purpose  is  pure,  when 
the  love  is  simple  and  clear,  it  will  keep  the  rest  of  the  man  in 
proper  mood  and  gesture,  and  will  direct  him,  not  always  with 
mechanical  exactness,  yet  evermore  with  the  most  beneficent 
impulse,  to  a  most  beneficent  end. 

Jesus  Christ's  last  word  was  about  himself.  "  Ye  shall  be  wit- 
nesses unto  ME. ' '  What  sublime  audacity  !  What  magnificent 
confidence  !  "Ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me, — not  to  one  another 
• — ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  vie,  and  I  will  sustain  you  in  bearing 
testimony,  I  will  send  the  Comforter,  I  will  give  you  power,  I  will 
not  leave  you  comfortless."  The  church  has  OJie  subject,  one 
King,  one  Lord,  one  thing  to  say — that  one  thing  is — Jesus  Christ 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  and  went,  out  of  the  world  to 
pray  for  his  church  and  sustain  his  servants  in  all  the  stress  of  life 
and  in  all  the  anxiety  of  service. 


III. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  thou  dost  call  us  together  that  thou  mayest  bless  us, 
and  not  that  thou  mayest  pour  upon  us  the  wrath  of  thy  judgment. 
When  thou  dost  call  men  it  is  to  a  great  wedding  feast,  yea,  to  gladness 
and  ecstasy.  When  we  obey  thy  call  and  come  together  to  thine  house, 
we  find  that  thy  banner  over  us  is  love,  and  that  thy  welcome  is  broader 
than  our  necessity.  Thou  art  always  working  for  those  who  have  sinned 
against  thee  :  thy  mercy  endureth  for  ever,  thy  love  is  a  great  sea  that 
cannot  be  dried  up  :  thy  mercy  and  thy  power  combine  to  make  one  great 
sky,  overarching  the  earth  that  has  left  thee  in  rude  rebellion. 

We  have  come  to  sing  of  thy  mercy  rather  than  of  thy  judgment :  thy 
mercy  is  the  angel  of  our  life,  it  is  the  light  of  our  eyes,  it  is  our  one  con- 
tinual comfort.  We  turn  away  from  our  sin  and  see  thy  mercy  more 
brightly  because  of  our  guilt.  What  have  we  not  seen  of  the  Lord's  com- 
passion, how  tender  his  heart,  how  continuous  his  love.  We  say  with 
the  house  of  Aaron  and  with  all  the  houses  of  ancient  time  and  of  modern 
days,  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever.  Because  thy  compassions  fail  not,  we 
are  here  this  day,  standing  in  the  Sabbatic  light  and  looking  up  with  ex- 
pectancy that  shall  not  be  disappointed,  into  the  shining  heavens.  Do 
not  all  things  come  from  above,  are  not  all  the  gifts  of  God  poured  down 
upon  us  as  from  a  summer  sky  ?  Continue  thy  goodness  to  us.  Lord  of 
the  heavens,  God  of  the  earth  and  Father  of  all  souls. 

We  bless  thee  that  we  can  thus  speak  to  thee  in  our  mother  tongue, 
with  all  the  fulness  and  plainness  of  love,  because  of  the  revelation  made 
concerning  thee  by  Jesus  Christ  thy  Son.  We  know  thee  because  we 
know  him,  we  love  him  because  he  first  loved  us,  and  to  love  him  is  to 
love  God.  For  all  his  wondrous  life  we  bless  thee  :  without  it  our  life 
would  be  a  life  in  the  night-time,  all  darkness  and  mystery.  For  his 
atoning  death  we  adore  thee,  magnifying  thy  wisdom  and  thy  grace  be- 
cause of  this  infinite  answer  to  our  transgression.  We  need  the  cross 
every  day  :  some  days  we  need  the  cross  to  save  us  from  the  pit  that 
opens  at  our  very  feet  :  may  we  run  to  the  cross,  hide  ourselves  in  the 
sanctuary  of  its  sacrifice,  abide  within  the  circle  of  its  glowing  mystery, 
and  there  await  the  communications  of  heaven  addressed  to  the  soul  by 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

Thou  hast  given  us  a  handful  of  days  which  we  call  our  life,  our  breath 
is  in  our  nostrils,  and  we  live  to  die— but  in  Christ  we  die  to  live,  he  is 


22  ACTS  I.  10-14. 


our  live  and  our  immortality,  and  because  we  are  in  him,  rooted  and 
grounded  in  his  purpose  of  grace  and  mercy,  we  shall  not  be  cast  away. 

Thou  wilt  continue  to  redeem  us  daily,  until  the  whole  work  of  Christ 
is  completed  in  our  life  and  we  are  beautiful  with  his  beauty.  Herein  is 
our  confidence,  without  this  we  have  no  rock  to  stand  upon,  but  with  this 
we  are  lifted  up  above  all  condemnation,  and  are  set  in  the  sanctuary  that 
cannot  be  violated.  Daily  come  to  us  with  all  thy  needed  love,  contin- 
ually stand  by  us,  that  our  weakness  may  become  our  strength  :  and  that 
out  of  the  night  of  our  sin  we  may  see  the  stars  of  thy  love  and  promise. 

Every  heart  has  its  own  tale  to  tell  thee,  of  wonder,  distress,  loss,  gain, 
joy  and  gladness.  Hear  thou  the  voices  of  individuals  as  well  as  the  cry 
of  our  common  delight,  and  our  multitudinous  supplication.  Come  to  us 
according  to  our  individual  requirement  ;  where  there  is  great  gloom 
bring  thou  back  the  light  that  has  long  fled.  Where  there  is  the  shining 
of  a  great  light  all  round  about  the  life,  speak  thou  the  word  that  shall 
stay  the  soul  against  the  time  of  darkness  and  storm.  Where  there  is  a 
burning  desire  to  serve  thee  with  both  hands,  with  an  entire  heart  and  an 
unbroken  will,  this  is  the  work  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  thou  wilt 
surely  continue  it  unto  the  end  :  if  thou  wilt  not  quench  the  smoking  flax, 
thou  wilt  not  put  out  the  burning  light.  Where  there  is  indifference  or 
hesitation,  an  unloving  reluctance,  a  painful  and  godless  wonder,  the 
Lord  come  with  the  olden  baptism,  tne  one  baptism  of  fire,  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  burn  up  wood  and  hay  and  stubble,  and  all  refuse  and 
alloys,  and  call  the  soul  to  the  youthfulness  of  immortal  love,  and  to  the 
consecration  of  a  homage  unimpaired. 

We  commend  unto  thee  the  poor,  the  sad,  the  lonely,  the  stranger,  the 
wanderer,  the  prodigal,  our  friends  upon  the  sea,  our  loved  ones  in  other 
lands,  those  who  are  appointed  to  die,  the  new  born,  the  bride  and  the 
bridegroom,  the  rrian  in  business,  in  anxiety,  in  success.  We  commend 
unto  thee  all  patient  sufferers,  all  who  are  undergoing  silent  distresses, 
the  penitent,  the  contrite,  and  the  broken-hearted — oh,  thou  whose  great 
blue  heaven  surrounds  us  all,  come  nearer  to  us  still  with  the  circle  of  thy 
love  as  it  is  revealed  and  glorified  in  God  the  Son.     Amen. 

Chap.  i.  10-14. 

10.  And  while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven  as  he  went  up, 
behold,  two  men  stood  [were  standing]  by  them  in  white  apparel  ; 

11.  Which  also  said.  Ye  men  of  Galilee  [all  the  Apostles  had  come  out 
of  Galilee]  why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven  ?  this  same  Jesus,  which 
is  taken  up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner  [Zech. 
xiv.  4]  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven  [Dan.  vii.  13]. 

12.  Then  returned  they  unto  Jerusalem  from  the  mount  called  Olivet 
[where  his  agony  took  place],  which  is  from  Jerusalem  a  Sabbath  day's 
journey  [six  fivlongs]. 

13.  And  when  they  were  come  in  [from  the  open  country],  they  went 


NATURAL  ATTITUDES.  23 

up  into  an  upper  room,  where  abode  [where  there  were  abiding]  both 
Peter,  and  James,  and  John,  and  Andrew,  Philip,  and  Thomas,  Barthol- 
omew, and  Matthew,  James  the  son  of  Alphaeus,  and  Simon  Zelotes 
[called  also  Simon  the  Canaanite],  and  Judas  the  brother  oi  James. 

14.  These  all  continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  supplication, 
with  the  women  [Luke  is  the  only  Evangelist  who  names  them],  and 
Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and  with  his  brethren  [the  last  known  fact  in 
her  life,  and  the  last  mention  of  the  brethren]. 


THE   UPWARD   LOOK. 

THE  action  of  the  disciples  was  undoubtedly  natural.  There 
are  some  attitudes  for  which  we  cannot  account  and  for 
which  we  think  we  need  not  account,  because  they  express  the 
uppermost  emotion  of  the  soul.  Who  knows  how  long  the  disci- 
ples would  have  looked  upward  steadfastly  into  heaven  .?  Many 
of  us  now  look  up  in  that  direction  simply  because  we  have  seen 
our  loved  one  ascend  towards  the  fount  of  day.  We  think  we  are 
the  better  for  looking,  and  so  we  are.  No  man  surely  can  be 
worse  for  looking  upward.  This  is  God's  old  medicament  for 
w^ounded  hearts  and  bruised  lives.  Said  he  to  ancient  Israel, 
"  Lift  up  thine-  eyes,  and  behold,"  and  then  he  called  attention 
to  all  the  hosts  of  Heaven,  and  asked  in  effect,  if  that  shining  host 
had  no  meaning  in  it — whether  it  did  not  symbolise  and  attest,  in 
the  most  emphatic  and  gracious  way,  the  power  and  wisdom  of 
One  unseen. 

We  cannot  allow  the  best  part  of  our  life  to  be  taken  up  without 
looking  in  the  direction  which  it  took  in  its  flight.  No  man, 
clothed  in  what  apparel  he  may  be,  can  chidingly  refer  to  our  atti- 
tude. The  heart  will  tell  its  own  tale  :  under  some  circumstances 
the  heart  will  have  its  own  way  ;  it  is  useless  to  tell  the  heart  that 
no  good  can  come  of  this  or  of  that — the  heart  finds  good  in  unex- 
pected places,  and  draws  honey  from  flowers  that  have  not  been 
suspected  as  bearing  honey,  by  any  naturalist  or  herbalist.  There 
are  times  when  the  heart  must  be  left  to  itself,  to  find  comfort 
where  it  can,  to  throw  itself  into  such  attitudes  and  postures  as  are 
inspired  and  dictated  by  supreme  and  uncontrollable  feelings. 
Why  should  we  hasten  from  the  grave,  why  should  we  turn  away 
from  it  as  if  we  longed  to  see  it  no  more  ?  There  is  a  time  when 
sorrow  becomes  sweetness — such  is   the   mystery  and  such   the 


24  ACTS  I.  10-14, 


graciousness  of  life,  that  loss  turns  itself  into  a  source  of  gain,  and 
men  Can  say,  without  contradiction  in  reality,  though  not  without 
contradiction  in  mere  krms — "  When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I 
strong. ' ' 

We  think,  when  we  look  after  the  captive  that  perhaps  we  may 
see  the  Captor.  Surely  that  explains  all  ;  by  what  threadlets  is  he 
lifted  up  ?  by  what  secret  mechanism,  by  what  subtle  attraction, 
by  what  spiritual  affinity — what  is  this  magnetism  that  draws  him 
upward  to  a  larger  place  ?  So  we  are  kept  on  the  alert,  expecting 
that  one  day  we  will  see  the  hand  that  steals  the  objects  of  our  love 
and  homage.  How  wonderfully  that  hand  conceals  itself !  it  is 
beside  us  and  we  see  it  not,  it  spreads  our  table  and  leaves  no 
finger  marks  that  the  rude  eyes  of  the  flesh  can  see,  it  makes  our 
bed  in  our  affliction  and  yet  there  is  no  sign  of  anything  super- 
human. Yet  what  a  wondrousy^i?//);^  of  the  supernatural  there  is, 
and  feeling  is  beyond  language,  taking  up  all  words  and  using 
them  so  far  as  they  can  go,  and  then  ascending  above  them,  and 
leaving  them  behind  like  the  dust  of  the  feet. 

While  the  disciples  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven  as  he  went 
up,  behold  two  men  stood  by  them  in  white  apparel.  Who  were 
those  men  .?  There  are  so  many  anonymous  influences  in  life — 
there  has  always  been  a  Man  in  this  Holy  Book,  that  would  not 
give  up  his  name — he  would  be  called  Prophet,  Angel,  Messenger, 
even  Voice,  but  the  secret  of  his  name  he  would  not  disclose. 
Now  he  gleamed  like  lightning,  now  he  moved  like  a  figure 
through  the  darkening  air,  a  figure,  yet  without  definite  shape,  a 
figure  that  was  going  to  be  a  shape,  and  suddenly  fell  back  from 
the  form  and  troubled  us  with  an  outline  for  which  we  had  no 
measure. 

The  ]\Ian  is  still  in  our  life,  he  is  the  great  Presence  in  our  life, 
did  we  but  know  it  well.  We  try  so  to  vulgarise  ourselves  as  to 
shut  out  the  supernatural,  yet  ever  and  anon  it  breaks  through  all 
our  arrangements,  and  troubles  us  like  a  sharp  pain.  But  if 
willingly  received,  received  with  welcomes  and  expectations,  he 
troubles  us  indeed,  but  with  a  gTQ3.t  gladness.  Sometimes  there  is 
pain  even  in  Joy,  sometimes  there  is  agony  in  love,  sometimes  our 
delight  rises  into  speechless  rapture.  Do  not  give  yourselves  up 
to  atheistic  loneliness  ;    expect  this  Presence,   always  clothed  in 


EDUCATION  BY  QUESTIONING.  25 

white  apparel.  Why  this  whiteness  ?  Why  this  scorn  of  colour  ? 
Why  this  infinite  and  ineffable  simplicity  ?  What  are  these 
arrayed  in  white  robes,  and  whence  came  they  ?  The  young 
angel  in  the  tomb  was  clothed  in  white  ;  the  men  that  spake  to 
Jesus  on  the  mountain  were  clothed  with  white,  with  raiment  so 
white  that  no  fuller  on  earth  could  touch  by  imitation  the  dazzling 
snow.  It  is  7iot  scorn  of  colour,  for  white  is  all  colours  in  one  ; 
white  is  the  emblem  of  light ;  the  emblem  of  purity,  the  symbol 
of  Divinity.  Who  were  they — were  they  Moses  and  Elias  ?  Had 
they  been  hovering  about  ever  since  they  had  been  on  the  moun- 
tain, when  they  spoke  of  the  decessus  he  should  accomplish  at 
Jerusalem  ?  Such  questions  may  have  no  answers  which  we  can 
supply,  yet  the  very  putling  of  a  great  question  may  itself  be  a  relig- 
ious exercise.  Let  us  understand  this  matter  of  interrogation  ;  it 
is  not  needful  to  have  an  answer  always  ;  a  question  may  be  so 
put  as  to  be  its  own  best  reply.  When  we  are  therefore  charged 
not  to  be  wise  above  what  is  written,  and  not  to  ask  questions,  we 
must  accept  the  exhortation  within  given  limits.  If  we  insist  upon 
answers  in  words,  then  is  our  question  asking  a  temptation  and  a 
snare  ;  but  if  we  ask  great  speculative  questions  so  as  to  stir  the 
soul's  wonder  and  evoke  the  soul's  prayer,  to  heighten  the  sky, 
and  widen  the  horizon,  and  then  say,  "  What  we  know  not  now 
we  shall  know  hereafter,"  speculation  becomes  one  of  the  highest 
exercises  of  the  religious  life.  Encourage  that  kind  of  specula- 
tion, only  see  that  it  does  not  hurry  you  into  impatience,  and  into 
that  aggravated  state  of  soul  which  expects  replies  in  words. 
Always  would  I  have  some  great  question  standing  in  front  of  me, 
luring  me  onward  and  so  continuing  my  education.  At  the  same 
time,  in  proportion  as  the  question  is  great,  poignant  and  urgent, 
would  I  pray  to  be  enabled  to  ask  it  in  the  spirit  that  expects  no 
verbal  reply. 

What  said  the  two  men  clothed  in  white  apparel  ?  "Ye  men 
of  Galilee" — that  term,  once  a  term  of  reproach,  now  becomes, 
through  their  utterance  of  it,  the  beginning  of  one  of  the  highest 
social  honours.  Names  that  have  been  spat  upon  by  the  world's 
contempt  and  scorn  shall  be  lifted  up  into  symbols  of  glory  and 
honour.  The  speaker  glorifies  the  words  he  uses  :  in  one  man's 
mouth  the  word  that  would  be  the  sign  of  vulgarity  becomes  in 


26  ACTS  I.  10-14. 


another  man's  mouth  an  instrument  of  refinement  and  education. 
The  speaker  should  be  above  his  language,  and  the  speaker's  sin- 
cerity should  be  as  a  furnace  that  purifies  all  that  is  cast  into  it  and 
preserves  the  hidden  gold. 

Thus  addressed,  the  speech  continued — "  Why  stand  ye  gazing 
up  into  heaven  V  It  was  not  a  rebuke  ;  it  was  a  call  from  enfee- 
bling reverie,  but  it  was  not  a  rebuke  of  the  attitude  which  was  then 
most  rationally  and  naturally  assumed.  But  our  attitudes  do 
puzzle  the  angels  and  the  white-clad  ones  that  come  from  heaven 
to  look  into  our  ways  of  doing  things.  We  are  continual  per- 
plexities to  our  celestial  and  other-world  visitants.  When  the  p(5or 
sorrow-laden  women  went  to  the  grave,  the  young  man  clothed  in 
white  raiment  said,  ' '  Why  seek  ye  the  living  among  the  dead  .'"' ' 
So,  when  the  disciples  are  looking  up  steadfastly  towards  heaven, 
the  voices  combine  to  say,  "  Why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into 
heaven  ?' ' 

This  why  has  stirred  us  from  the  very  beginning  of  human  his- 
iory.  Collect  from  the  Bible  all  the  questions  that  begin  with  the 
word  Why,  and  you  will  be  surprised  at  their  number  and  their 
variety.  Sometimes  God  says,  "  Why  will  you  be  stricken  any 
more.?"  Often  and  often  he  says,  "  Why  \\\\\  ye  die.?"  Again 
and  again,  with  remonstrance  of  wisdom,  he  says,  "  PF/zy  spend 
money  for  that  which  is  not  bread,  and  your  labour  for  that  which 
satisfieth  not .?"  How  we  do  perplex  the  better  world  !  the  angels 
will  not  allow  us  to  look  downward,  nor  will  they  allow  us  to  look 
upward  too  long  in  either  case.  The  angel  at  the  tomb  did  not 
drive  away  the  women  :  having  asked  them  why  they  sought  the 
living  among  the  d3ad,  and  having  told  them  that  Christ  was  not 
there,  the  angel  said,  ' '  Come,  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay. ' ' 
Gentle  word  !  sympathetic  speech  for  angels  to  make  to  broken- 
hearted ones  ; — the)''  catch  us  in  the  right  mood,  they  know  exactly 
what  to  say.  He  was  an  angel,  or  how  could  he  have  said, 
"Come  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay .?"  He  was  a  man- 
angel,  a  human-heart  angel,  who  knew  that  looking  at  an  empty 
place  might  sometimes  be  equal  to  going  to  God's  church. 

Why  look  at  the  empty  chair  P  Why  look  at  the  little  dresses 
that  never  more  can  be  worn  by  the  one  for  whom  they  were 
made  ?  Why  visit  the  scenes  that  have  been  made  heroic  by 
noble  valour  and  sacred  endurance  ?     Why  climb  the  pulpit  of 


THIS  SAME   JESUS.  27 

the  famous  preacher  ?  Why  look  into  the  rooms  once  inhabited 
by  great  historical  personages  ?  What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ? 
The  angel  says  to  us,  ' '  Why  do  you  spend  your  time  so  ?  Be- 
think ye.  Yet,  now  that  you  are  here,  come,  see  the  place,  and 
out  of  emptiness  get  fulness.  Because  the  grave  is  empty  let  your 
heart  be  filled  with  sacred  delight." 

The  women  were  thus  taught  not  to  look  too  long  into  the  empty 
grave,  and  the  men  were  taught  not  to  look  too  long  into  the 
vacant  space  that  was  between  them  and  the  heavens.  What  were 
they  then  to  do  .?  In  both  cases  to  take  the  muldle  line.  Men 
must  live  on  averages.  You  cannot  be  living  at  the  extreme  point 
of  melancholy,  or  the  extreme  point  of  ecstasy  :  you  must  come 
to  the  middle  line  and  work  along  the  so-called  commonplaces  of 
history.  Life  is  not  a  dazzling  romance  ;  life  is  not  one  continual 
funeral  ;  nor  is  it  one  continual  wedding-feast  ;  life  is  made  up  of 
ordinary  duties,  average  occupation,  faithful,  diligent  continuance 
in  the  vocation  wherewith  we  are  called,  and  we  have  to  establish 
our  life  in  patience  and  in  well-doing,  rather  than  to  glorify  it  by 
ecstasies  which  perish  because  of  their  very  violence. 

Is  contemplation  then  forbidden  in  the  church  ?  No.  Reverie 
is  ;  monastic  seclusion  is  ;  idolatry  of  place  is  forbidden,  and  irra- 
tional expectation  is  interdicted,  but  the  soul  must  have  its  times 
of  looking  into  graves  and  looking  into  skies  and  looking  very 
widely  about  itself,  for  in  such  looking  is  the  beginning  of 
strength.  If  you  go  to  the  grave  to  aggravate  your  atheism  you 
will  find  no  angel  there.  If  you  look  up  into  the  heavens  and 
think  that  life  is  to  be  a  daily  evaporation  and  sighing,  then  are 
you  misspending  your  opportunities,  and  letting  the  whole  sphere 
of  service  fall  into  decay  and  ruin. 

But  to  be  turned  away  from  the  grave  ! — yes,  but  the  women 
were  not  turned  away  from  the  tomb,  they  were  invited  to  look 
into  it.  And  the  men  were  not  turned  away  from  the  heavens, 
they  were  enriched  with  a  gTea.t  promise — "  this  same  Jesus  which 
is  taken  up  from  you  into  heaven  shall  come  in  like  manner  as  ye 
have  seen  him  go  into  heaven."  Pause  long  at  the  words  "  This 
same  Jesus. ' '  Our  fear  has  been  that  we  should  one  day  see  some 
ot^er  Christ.  I  with  you,  want  to  see  the  Christ  of  Bethlehem  and 
Nazareth,  and  Galilee,  and  Jerusalem,  and  Gethsemane,  and  the 
Cross,   and  Olivet.     We  have  read  of  him  as  being  "  the  same 


ACTS  I.  10-14. 


yesterday,  to-day  and  for  ever. ' '  We  often  wish  that  we  could 
have  seen  him  in  his  humiliation.  In  some  way  God  will  preserve 
the  identity  of  Christ,  and  we  shall  see  that  same  Jesus  that  came 
to  save  the  world.  Who  wants  to  see  the  glorified  Christ  alone  .? 
so  transfigured  and  so  to  say  so  deified  that  his  own  original  disci- 
ples would  not  know  him  .''  There  must  be  the  reality  of  identity  ; 
we  must  so  see  him  as  to  be  able  to  say  at  once,  without  indica- 
tion from  any  other  quarter,  ' '  That  is  Christ  and  none  other — 

In  his  feet  and  hands  are  wound  prints, 
And  his  side." 

He  must  so  show  himself  that  we  can  have  no  questioning  one 
with  the  other  as  to  his  identity,  but  by  common,  universal  assent 
we  must  be  enabled  to  say,  "  This  is  he  of  whom  Moses  and  the 
prophets  did  write  :  this  is  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem,  the  Man 
mighty  in  deed  and  word  before  God  and  all  the  people,  the 
crucified  Victim,  the  prevailing  Priest."  So  women  turned  away 
after  having  been  invited  to  see  the  grave,  and  men  turned  away 
with  the  promise  that  this  same  Jesus  should  come  in  like  manner, 
were  in  no  rude  and  violent  manner  turned  away,  but  each  was 
comforted  with  special  sympathy. 

How  obedient  the  men  were  to  the  heavenly  vision.  There  are 
times  when  we  are  just  little  children  in  the  hands  of  God,  without 
question-asking  or  murmuring  or  complaining.  The  men  returned 
to  Jerusalem,  they  were  wrought  up  into  a  mood  of  docility,  self- 
renunciation,  and  utter,  simple  waiting  upon  God.  We  know 
that  we  are  growing  in  grace,  when  we  know  that  we  are  growing 
in  the  spirit  of  obedience.  They  would  go  or  stand,  or  look  or 
return  as  they  were  bidden.  We  have  lost  that  sweet  simplicity  ; 
we  have  now  become  cunning  in  argument,  learned  in  controversy, 
skilful  in  the  suggestion  of  difficulties,  and  the  simplicity  of  child- 
like obedience  has  been  lost  from  our  heart.  Would  that  we 
could  open  God's  book  and  read  it  straight  off  without  any  ques- 
tioning or  unbelief !  Would  that  we  could  take  the  psalms  and 
read  them  as  if  they  belonged  to  us.  How  much  richer  we  would 
be,  and  quieter,  and  stronger. 

To  ivhat  did  the  men  return  ?  When  they  were  come  in  they 
went  up  into  an  upper  room.  In  ancient  Madrid  the  rule  was 
that,  except  there*  was  a  special  stipulation  to  the  contrar)',  the 


MECHANISM  BROKEN  UP.  29 

upper  rooms  of  all  houses  belonged  to  the  ki7ig.  Ideally  the 
notion  is  full  of  beauty.  However  humble  your  house,  if  it  had 
been  built  under  the  common  law  of  Spain,  the  upper  chambers 
were  royal  possessions.  Is  there  any  chamber  in  our  house  that 
belongs  to  the  King }  Do  we  keep  a  chair  which  He  will  turn 
into  a  Throne  by  sitting  in  it  1  Do  we  keep  one  crust  which  he 
may  turn  into  a  feast  by  breaking  it }  Have  we  one  vessel  filled 
v;ith  water  which  he  will  fill  with  wine  by  smiling  upon  it  ?  Is 
there  anything  in  all  the  house  that  is  peculiarly  and  inalienably 
the  King's  .?  We  might  make  the  whole  house  his  :  so  all-claim- 
ing is  his  love  that  he  would  take  it,  and  what  he  takes  he  returns 
— as  his  kind  earth  does  ;  the  kind,  yet  voracious  earth  takes  our 
handful  of  seed,  but  returns  it  in  golden  harvest. 

So  the  men  gathered  in  that  upper  room — and  their  names  are 
given,  not  in  the  old  order,  but  with  some  confusion  of  consecu- 
tiveness.  What  of  that  ?  It  was  a  grand  thing  to  break  up 
mechanism  at  the  very  first  ;  to  read  the  list  either  backward  or 
forward,  or  beginning  at  the  middle  and  going  either  way — for  are 
we  not  all  called  to  a  common  brotherhood  in  Christ,  and  are  not 
the  last  first  and  the  first  last,  and  is  not  the  middle  name  the  most 
glorious  of  all .?  And  what  is  the  difference  between  us  when  we 
are  judged  and  valued  by  the  redeeming  grace  of  God  }  Presently 
the  disciples  will  try  to  make  a  little  order  in  the  Church,  and  they 
will  be  punished  for  it.  We  have  but  to  turn  over  the  page,  and 
the  disciples  before  the  Pentecost  will  make  wise  fools  of  them- 
selves. We  love  to  ??iechanise,  to  build  little  sand  houses,  which 
the  first  wave  will  swash  down  and  mingle  with  the  common  shore. 
It  is  better  that  we  should  have  the  order  of  spontaneity,  and  that 
any  man  should  be  able  to  write  the  list  blindfold,  and  to  put  the 
names  down  as  they  occur  to  him.  Who  cares  where  his  name  is, 
provided  it  be  iti  the  list  P  Is  my  name  here  .?  I  ask  not  where, 
but  here,  on  the  record,  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life  .?  I  ask  not 
whether  on  the  first  page  or  the  last — is  it  in  the  book  .?  If  so,  it 
is  enough. 

These  all  continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  supplication 
— all  life  running  up  into  one  grand  cry  unto  God.  You  cannot 
pray  to  order :    you   may  appoint    your  times   for   prayer   and 


30  ACTS  I.  10-14. 


endeavour  to  keep  those  times,  but  sometimes  we  in  breaking  our 
appointment  with  God  best  keep  it.  We  cannot  always  pray  as 
we  can  pray  sometimes.  There  are  days  of  prayer  ;  harvests  of 
prayer  ;  hours  that  we  could  spend,  and  count  them  all  too  short, 
in  the  eloquence  of  loving  communion  with  God.  At  other  times 
we  are  speechless  in  his  presence,  the  heart  is  dumb,  there  is  no 
cry  in  the  spirit,  and  what  we  have  to  learn  is  this,  that  our  speech- 
lessness is  oftentimes  more  eloquent  than  our  speech. 

And  the  women  were  there,  all  named  together — not  only  the 
women,  but  the  Woman — and  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus — one 
last  little  line  to  herself.  We  hear  nothing  more  about  her  that  is 
authentic  :  legend  and  tradition  have  their  foolish  tales  to  tell 
about  her,  but  this  is  the  end,  so  far  as  the  Scriptures  are  con- 
cerned— "  And  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus."  Do  not  complicate 
that  simplicity,  add  nothing  to  that  completeness.  She  was  there, 
not  ofificially,  not  presidentially — she  was  there  as  one  of  the 
women  whose  eyes  were  as  the  pools  of  Heshbon. 

There  was  the  little  society,  doing  nothing  but  praying — and 
when  a  church  does  nothing  but  pray  it  begins  to  do  the  mightiest 
of  all  works.  I  do  not  say  uttering  prayerful  words  and  sentences, 
but  PRAYING— when  it  prays  with  the  heart,  with  the  violence 
of  love,  yet  with  the  patience  of  confidence,  when  it  gives  itself  in 
unbroken  stress  towards  the  heavens,  then  no  angel  ever  says, 
* '  Why  speak  ye  thus  steadfastly  up  to  heaven  .''' '  The  looking  was 
turned  aside,  but  not  the  praying,  the  looking  after  the  vanished 
figure,  but  not  the  praying  to  the  presiding  Intercessor.  We  may 
look  too  long  after  that  which  we  think  our  eyes  can  descry,  but 
when  it  comes  to  speaking  heavenward,  sending  the  sotil  skyward, 
bidding  the  heart  go  on  its  own  messages  and  knock  at  heaven's 
door,  then  no  men  clothed  in  white  apparel  say,  "  Why  speak  ye 
so  long .'"  but  all  heaven  says,  every  angel  says,  the  church  of 
the  first-born  in  heaven  says, — "  PRAY  without  ceasing." 


IV. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  know  thee  as  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  and  we  trem- 
ble before  thee.  Thou  dost  search  Jerusalem  as  with  a  candle  ;  the  light 
of  thine  eyes  falls  upon  the  inmost  parts  of  the  heart,  and  there  is  nothing 
hidden  from  thy  vision.  The  darkness  and  the  light  are  both  alike  unto 
thee,  the  wings  of  the  morning  cannot  carry  us  away  beyond  thy  looking, 
there  is  no  height  in  heaven,  there  is  no  depth  in  hell  wherein  is  conceal- 
ment from  the  eyes  that  fill  the  universe.  Wherewithal  then  can  we  come 
before  thee,  wherein  is  our  standing,  and  on  what  ground  do  we  now 
appear  ?  Thou  hast  nourished  and  brought  up  children,  but  they  have 
rebelled  against  thee  ;  no  child  of  thine  on  all  this  earth  but  has  lifted  up 
an  arm  of  rebellion  against  the  heavens  :  there  is  none  righteous,  no,  not 
one.  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray,  we  have  turned  every  one  to 
his  own  way, — wherein  then  do  we  appear  before  thee  but  in  him  who  is 
our  brother  and  Priest  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God  ?  Wor- 
thy is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive  the  homage  of  all  creation, 
loudest  and  sweetest  of  all,  the  hymn  of  redeemed  men,  who,  having 
known  the  darkness  and  the  torment  of  sin,  have  been  brought  into  a 
marvellous  light  and  into  an  unspeakable  joy.  We  come  before  thee  to 
speak  of  Christ,  to  bless  thee  for  the  Son  of  Man,  to  worship  him  as  thy 
Son,  our  Priest  and  our  one  Sacrifice,  who  answers  every  question, 
soothes  us  by  his  grace,  gives  us  infinite  comfort  by  his  promises,  and 
who  has  pledged  himself,  as  with  the  oath  of  his  blood,  to  complete  what 
he  has  begun,  and  to  present  us  faultless  before  thee. 

How  long,  O  Lord,  how  long  before  we  are  brought  into  a  state  of 
obedience  unto  thee  ?  We  are  proud  and  self-willed,  we  are  ignorant  of 
all  that  is  deep  and  lasting,  we  seize  things  that  flit  by  us,  and  imagine 
that  they  express  eternity.  We  come  before  thee  as  those  who  are  foolish 
of  heart  and  void  of  understanding,  and  we  ask  thee  to  pity  us  and  for- 
give us  with  all  the  infinite  tenderness  of  thy  love.  Thou  dost  show  us 
thyself  in  wondrous  ways  ;  oh,  that  we  had  eyes  to  see  thee  in  all  the 
story  of  the  day,  in  all  the  march  of  the  seasons,  in  all  the  displays  of  thy 
providence.  Thou  dost  crush  the  bad  man,  and  overthrow  that  which  is 
corrupt,  and  upon  righteousness  and  virtue  dost  thou  set  the  crown  of 
thine  approbation.  If  for  a  small  moment  thou  dost  forsake  men,  it  is 
that  with  everlasting  mercies  thou  mayest  gather  them. 

Take  thine  own  way  with  us — thy  will  be  done.  We  cannot  follow  all 
thy  will,  nor  do  we  know  the  secret  of  thy  movement,  but  we  know  Christ 


ACTS  I.  15-26. 


thy  Son,  and  he  has  revealed  the  Father.  Work  in  the  dark  or  in  the 
light,  as  thou  wilt,  only  when  thou  hast  tried  us,  bring  us  forth  as  gold. 
Preside  over  the  furnace,  watch  all  the  burning,  when  the  last  dross  falls 
away,  when  in  our  purified  soul  thou  dost  see  the  shining  of  thine  image, 
cool  the  furnace  and  present  us  to  thyself.  We  would  be  thine  :  bad  in 
our  inmost  heart,  sullied  in  all  the  emotion  and  passion  of  our  soul, 
crushed  by  burdens  of  our  own  creation — still  we  would  be  thine.  We 
are  ashamed  of  the  devil,  we  are  ashamed  of  ourselves,  we  find  no  confi- 
dence and  rejoicing  but  in  the  light  and  the  truth  of  the  Deity  :  Lord, 
may  our  better  conquer  our  worse  self,  set  up  thy  kingdom  in  our  heart, 
that  great,  glad,  radiant  kingdom  which  is  called  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Help  us  up  the  road  when  it  is  very  steep,  draw  nearer  to  us  as  the 
wind  becomes  colder,  when  we  are  affrighted  by  presences  in  the  dark, 
and  by  voices  mingling  with  the  storm.  Jet  thy  comforting  toward  us  be 
multiplied  and  recall  our  courage  in  God. 

We  pray  for  those  who  are  not  here  :  for  the  bad  one  who  would  not 
come,  for  the  sick  one  who  could  not  come,  for  the  far  away  one  who 
wants  to  come,  for  all  who  are  included  within  the  circle  of  thy  love. 
Have  pity  upon  the  suffering,  those  who  are  dying  do  thou  make  to  live 
by  thy  presence  and  thy  soothing  :  where  the  house  is  very  lonely  and 
the  shadow  has  the  deeper  gloom  to  the  eye  that  reads  it  aright  than  any 
other  shadow  they  ever  saw  in  the  house  before — where  the  heart  is  very 
sore,  where  old  companionships  are  about  to  be  broken  up,  where  life- 
long unions  are  about  to  be  sundered,  where  the  wedding  vow  is  about  to 
be  taken  up  and  to  pass  on  to  other  meanings,  where  the  child  is  sick, 
where  the  shadow  of  the  coffin  rests  upon  the  cradle,  and  where  there  is 
gloom  or  sorrow  or  weariness  of  any  kind — O,  thou  who  didst  make  every 
star  of  the  night  and  every  flower  of  the  summer  day,  thou  who  didst  in- 
carnate thyself  in  Jesus  Christ,  let  thy  grace  be  multiplied,  and  let  thy 
comfort  mightily  prevail  over  all  our  distress.     Amen. 

Acts  i.  15-26. 

15.  And  in  those  days  Peter  stood  up  in  the  midst  of  the  disciples,  and 
said,  (the  number  of  names  [probably  a  synonym  for  persons]  together 
were  about  an  hundred  and  twenty)  [of  whom  one-tenth  were  apostles]. 

16.  Men  and  brethren  [Demosthenes  said,  Ye  men  of  Athens  !],  this 
Scripture  must  needs  have  been  fulfilled,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the 
mouth  of  David  [the  beginning  of  the  new  method  of  interpretation] 
spake  before  concerning  Judas,  which  was  guide  to  them  that  took  Jesus. 

17.  For  he  was  numbered  with  us  [he  had  been  numbered],  and  had 
obtained  part  of  this  ministry  [portion  or  inheritance]. 

18.  Now  this  man  purchased  [got  possession  of.  In  old  English  pur- 
chase often  meant  acquired]  a  field  with  the  reward  of  iniquity  [a  Petrine 
phrase,  see  2  Peter  ii.  13,  15]  ;  and  falling  headlong,  he  burst  asunder  in 
the  midst,  and  all  his  bowels  gushed  out. 


COMPLETING   THE  APOSTOLATE.  zz 

ig.  And  it  was  [became]  known  unto  all  the  dwellers  at  Jerusalem  ;  in- 
somuch as  that  field  is  called  in  their  proper  tongue  [in  their  own  dialect] 
Aceldama,  that  is  to  say,  The  field  of  blood. 

20.  For  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  Psalms,  Let  his  habitation  be  deso- 
late, and  let  no  man  dwell  therein  :  and  his  bishoprick  [the  general  term 
office  is  preferable]  let  another  take. 

21.  Wherefore  of  these  men  which  have  companied  with  us  all  the  time 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out  among  us  [representing  the  whole 
life  and  conduct]. 

22.  Beginning  from  the  baptism  of  John,  unto  that  same  day  that  he 
was  taken  up  from  us,  must  one  be  ordained  to  be  a  witness  with  us  of 
his  resurrection. 

23.  And  they  appointed  two,  Joseph  [nothing  further  is  known  of  himi 
called  Barsabas  [son  of  the  oath  or  wisdom],  who  was  surnamed  Justus, 
and  Matthias  [given  by  Jehovah]. 

24.  And  they  prayed,  and  said,  thou,  Lord,  which  knowest  the  hearts 
of  all  men,  shew  whether  of  these  two  thou  hast  chosen. 

25.  That  he  may  take  part  of  this  ministry  and  apostleship,  from  which 
Judas  by  transgression  fell  [away],  that  he  might  go  to  his  own  place. 

26.  And  they  gave  forth  their  lots  [not  votes]  ;  and  the  lot  fell  upon 
Matthias  ;  and  he  was  numbered  [the  Greek  word  is  not  the  same  as  in 
V.  17]  with  the  eleven  apostles. 


THE   PREMATURE  ELECTION. 

"^  AND  in  those  days." — There  were  ten  days  between  the  tak_ 
ing  up  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  the  festival  of  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit  which  is  now  known  to  us  by  the  name  of  Whitsun- 
tide. In  those  ten  days  Peter  "  stood  up."  It  was  a  pity  he  did 
so,  for  he  had  been  distinctly  told  to  sit  down.  But  who  can  waii 
ten  days }  Yet  those  periods  of  waiting  are  interposed  in  every 
life,  for  the  trial  of  patience  and  for  the  perfecting  of  faith.  Where 
is  there  a  man  who  can  sit  down  ten  long  days  and  do  nothing 
but  waii  P  "They  also  serve  who  only  stand  and  wait." 
"  Stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of  God."  "  Your  strength  is 
to  sit  still."  Mark  how  this  is  God's  training  of  us  in  this  matter 
of  sitting,  waiting,  ■  expecting, — training  us  to  the  eloquence  of 
silence  and  to  the  energy  of  standing  still.      Who  can  do  it .? 

Peter  was  pre-eminently  the  man  who  could  not  do  it.  Goaded 
by  impatience,  he  stood  up  and  addressed  the  disciples.  He  was 
always  more  or  less  of  a  talkative  man,  letting  his  energy  flow  out 
in  speech  instead  of  embodying  it  in  noble  patience  and  heroic 


34  ACTS  I.  15-26. 


endurance.  His  energy  evaporated.  He  will  become  a  better  man 
by-and-by  ;  from  Peter  we  shall  yet  hear  some  of  the  most  solid 
and  noble  deliverances  ever  pronounced  by  an  inspired  apostle. 
He  will  burn  as  Paul  never  burned  ;  he  will  excel  even  John  in 
tenderness,  yes,  even  in  this  opening  speech,  made  before  the  time, 
he  begins  to  show  that  delicacy  of  touch  which  so  often  made  him 
conspicuous  amid  all  the  writers  of  apostolic  letters. 

It  was  to  be  feared  that  he  would  begin  with  a  mistake,  because 
he  ended  with  one.  On  the  last  occasion  probably,  or  near  it,  on 
which  he  saw  the  Lord,  he  said  to  Jesus,  "  Lord,  what  shall  this 
man— the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved — do  ?"  A  man  who  asks  a 
question  of  that  kind  will  commit  a  mistake  the  next  time  he 
speaks.  Faults  go  in  groups.  Jesus  rebuked  him,  saying,  "  If  I 
will," — that  subtle  lordliness  of  tone  which  always  separated  him 
from  all  other  speakers. — "  If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come, 
what  IS  that  to  thee  .'  Follow  thou  me."  The  next  time  we  hear 
of  Peter  in  any  conspicuous  relation  is  in  the  instance  before  us, 
when  during  the  ten  days  of  waiting  he  became  impatient,  and 
stood  up  amid  the  disciples  and  made  a  speech  about  the  vacancy 
in  the  apostolate. 

The  fussy  church  must  be  doing  something,  if  it  is  only  mis- 
chief ;  the  mechanical  church  cannot  stand  still  ;  church-mongers 
are  infinitely  too  busy  ;  they  lack  repose  ;  they  consider  that  if 
they  are  walking  up  and  down  very  much,  they  are  doi?ig  some- 
thing, they  consider  that  if  they  be  sitting  quietly  still,  looking 
with  wonder-filled  eyes  to  the  great  silent  heavens  in  expectancy 
and  eager  love,  they  are  doing  nothing.  Peter  will  have  a  vote 
taken,  or  a  ballot ;  he  will  complete  the  broken  circle — he  who 
broke  the  circle  most,  he  whose  crime  out-blackens  Iscariot's,  he 
who  said,  "  I  know  not  what  thou  sayest,  I  know  not  the  man," 
he  who  with  cursing  and  swearing  denied  that  he  knew  Christ, — 
was  that  not  in  reality  selling  his  Lord  without  the  silver  ?  He 
stood  up  in  the  midst  and  began  to  organise  the  apostolate  !  If 
Judas  had  lived,  who  knows  what  Christ  would  have  done  to  him  } 
Peter  lived,  and  Christ  had  a  secret  interview  with  him,  and  in 
that  private  conversation  an  amnesty  was  pronounced  and  Peter 
was  re-established.  No  man  can  expel  you  from  the  church. 
Every  expelled  man  expels  himself.  You  can  be  put  away  from  a 
visible  community.     You  cannot  be  put  away  from  Christ's  bosom. 


SELF-EXCOMMUNICATION.  35 

Christ's  family,  Christ's  church,  but  by  your  own  hand.  It  is 
this  terrific  power  of  suicide  with  which  God  has  entrusted  rational 
life  !  Chrysostom  was  wont  to  say,  what  we  now  quote  as  a 
modern  proverb,  as  if  contemporaneous  wit  had  suggested  and 
formulated  the  wisdom,  "  No  man  can  hurt  a  man  but  himself." 
Nothing  that  you  can  say  against  me  will  have  the  smallest  effect 
upon  me  or  against  me,  if  I  be  true  in  my  inmost  soul,  unbroken 
in  homage,  constant  in  devotion,  perfect  and  incorruptible  in  sin- 
cerity. Nothing  that  I  can  say  against  you  will  have  the  smallest 
effect  detrimental  in  the  long  run,  if  you  be  true  in  heart,  and  full 
of  integrity  towards  God. 

Peter  excluded  himself  from  the  church.     So  we  read,  "  Go  tell 

my  disciples and   Peter."      The  first-born   disinherited,    the 

great  primogeniture  broken  up,  the  first  last,  the  leader  an  exile  ! 
And  Judas  "  by  transgression  fell" — he  put  /«mf^ outside  the 
church.  It  is  not  a  Papacy  that  can  unchurch  me,  it  is  not  an 
ecclesiastical  confederation  that  can  unchurch  you.  You  have  in 
your  own  sclfiht  power  of  life  and  death,  so  far  as  this  particular 
matter  is  concerned.  God  has  made  you  your  own  trustee.  You 
can  separate  3^ourself  from  Christ,  you  can  turn  away  and  walk  no 
more  with  him,  you  can  commit  suicide,  but  as  for  others,  no  man 
can  pluck  you  out  of  your  Father's  hand.  Let  us  consider  well, 
therefore,  how  each  soul  is  treating  itself. 

But  Peter  was  forgiven.  What  was  said  at  the  secret  interview, 
who  can  tell .?  When  the  hands  touched  one  another  again,  one 
of  them  was  just  the  same  it  always  was,  a  rough  fisherman's  hand 
— but  the  other  was  not  the  same — the  wound  print  made  all  the 
difference  !  But  the  grip  was  the  same,  the  old,  old  grip,  the 
masonry  of  the  union  was  the  same,  and  the  wound  only  increased 
its  tenderness.  Poor  soul,  thou  mayest  be  forgiven  !  Black 
Iscariot,  all  but  damned,  thou  art  not  yet  lost ;  seek  an  interview 
with  the  ill-treated  Saviour,  have  it  out  between  yourselves  this 
very  day,  tell  him  all  the  tale  without  a  single  reservation  or  self- 
excuse,  and  ere  you  have  got  it  all  out,  his  forgiveness  will  be 
down  upon  you  like  an  infinite  blessing  !  He  never  allows  the 
prodigal  io  finish  his  speech.  He  sees  from  the  first  sentence  what 
the  last  is  going  to  be,  and  punctuating  the  eloquence  of  peniten- 
tial grief  with  his  affectionate  embrace,  the  sin  is  forgotten,  as 
impurity  is  consumed  in  fire. 


36  ACTS  J.  I $-26. 


Peter  begins  where  all  wise  teachers  must  begin,  if  they  would 
continue  in  efficiency,  and  conclude  beneficently.  He  founds 
what  he  has  to  say  upon  the  Scriptures.  This  is  the  peculiarity  of 
Christian  teaching  :  it  founds  itself  upon  the  written  word,  it  never 
fears  to  rest  itself  upon  that  sacred  testimony  :  even  where  there' 
may  be  differences  of  inlerpr elation,  it  rests  upon  something  deeper 
than  merely  verbal  exposition.  Herein  is  that  sublime  possibility 
of  all  Christian  sections  being  substantially  and  integrally  right. 
The  Arminian  and  the  Calvinist,  two  ghosts  that  have  often 
affrighted  the  timid  church — they  are  both  right.  The  man  who 
believes  in  the  humanity  of  Christ,  and  the  man  who  believes  in 
the  Deity  of  Christ  are  both  right.  How  is  this,  then  .?  Simply 
because  the  contradiction  and  the  difference  are  to  be  found  in 
interpretation,  but  there  is  always  something  below  anything  that 
can  be  written,  and  there  is  something  higher  than  a  tongue  or  a 
prophecy,  or  an  interpretation  in  w^ords  !  It  is  the  spirit  that 
unites,  it  is  the  letter  that  divides  and  kills.  It  is  quite  possible 
for  an  heterodox  man  to  have  an  orthodox  spirit,  and  it  is  by  his 
spirit  that  he  will  be  saved,  and  not  by  his  letter.  Do  not  tell  me 
what  your  creed  is  :  but  do  tell  me  something  of  your  k7nper,  your 
spirit,  your  supreme  aspiration,  your  highest,  broadest  prayer — 
what  is  the  one  desire  of  your  heart .?  There  is  nothing  true  that 
is  incompatible  with  love  ;  charity  never  faileth.  As  for  our  con- 
ceptions, interpretations,  and  suggestions,  they  are  but  intermediate 
or  transient ;  we  are  passing  on  through  them  to  some  further  and 
higher  generalisation  :  on  the  road  let  us  exchange  views,  approach 
one  another  with  a  noble  charity,  and  know  that  there  is  no  one 
man  who  holds  in  exclusive  trust  the  totality  of  the  Truth  which  is 
indicated  by  the  expression  "  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Grounding  himself  upon  what  is  written  in  the  Scriptures,  and 
only  partially  interpreting  it,  Peter  proceeded  to  take  a  ballot  for 
an  apostle  to  succeed  the  apostate  Judas.  But  could  Peter  make 
a  mistake  when  he  addressed  the  disciples  at  that  time  ?  Who 
asked  him  to  rise  and  address  the  disciples  at  all  ?  In  our  last 
study  of  this  chapter,  we  read  that  the  disciples  were  told  to  wait 
for  the  baptism  of  power — "  Ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  not  many  days  hence."  They  were  waiting  for  that  bap- 
tism, and  whilst  they  were  waiting  for  it,  Peter  spoke.     Peter  was 


APOSTOLICAL    QUALIFICATION. 


not  endued  with  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  Pentecostal  sense  when  he 
made  this  speech  :  we  shall  watch  him  grow  ;  when  the  Holy 
Spirit  does  descend  upon  him  and  burn  up  all  his  folly,  then  we 
shall  see  how  noble  a  man  was  concealed  under  the  exterior  of 
that  rough  and  oft-mistaken  fisherman. 

The  conditions  of  succession  to  the  apostolate  are  very  beautiful. 
"  Wherefore  of  these  men  which  have  companied  with  us  all  the 
time  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out  among  us,  beginning 
from  the  baptism  of  John,  unto  that  same  day  that  he  was  taken 
up  from  us,  must  one  be  ordained  to  be  a  witness  with  us  of  his 
resurrection."  That  is  the  law  of  the  ministry  to-day.  "  Lay 
hands  suddenly  on  no  man."  The  men  who  must  come  to  this 
Christian  ministry  must  be  men  who  have  "  companied  with  us  all 
the  time,"  men  who  have  known  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  all  the 
time,  men  who  were  present  at  his  birth  in  Bethlehem,  and  present 
at  His  upgoing  on  Olivet — men  who  have  been  with  him  "  all  the 
time,"  men  to  whom  he  is  no  stranger,  who  read  his  character, 
peruse  the  mystery  of  his  spirit,  comprehend  the  beneficence  of  his 
purpose,  enter  into  sacred  and  inviolable  unity  with  every  emotion 
that  heaved  his  breast  and  that  sanctified  his  life,  men  who  "  have 
companied  with  him  all  the  time." 

You  cannot  make  ministers,  you  cannot  pick  out  exiles  and 
aliens  and  teach  them  this  language  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  as 
if  they  were  natives  of  that  celestial  empire.  They  must  be  borii, 
not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man, 
but  they  must  be  born  of  God,  and  so  born  nothing  can  stand 
against  them.  They  will  trample  down  difficulties  with  the  scorn 
of  infinite  strength,  saying,  "  We  can  do  all  things  through 
Christ."  This  is  the  mischief  against  which  we  have  to  guard, 
that  3-ou  can  buy  ministers  with  money,  that  you  can  qualify  apos- 
tles by  salary,  that  if  you  offer  higher  prices,  you  would  get  higher 
genius  !  It  is  a  LIE  !  This  genius  is  not  in  the  market,  it  is  not 
a  commodity  that  can  be  exchanged  and  bartered,  it  has  no 
equivalent  in  kind,  it  is  a  fire  that  only  one  hand  can  light  and 
that  no  storm  can  put  out. 

Having  elected  two  men  for  choice,  the  disciples  prayed  :  they 
left  the  case  in  the  hands  of  God,  but  unfortunately  they  had  first 
taken  it  into  their  own.     Never  take  your  own  case  into  your  own 


38  ACTS  I.  15-26. 


hand  :  have  nothing  to  do  with  it  :  I  will  not  guide  my  own  life. 
Persons  say  "Be  prudent" —  if  ever  you  can  for  a  moment  sit 
yourself  down,  resolving  to  be  prudenl,  God  has  forsaken  you  ! 
Persons  say,  "  Beware  of  exaggeration,  of  over-colouring  ;  beware 
of  enterprises  that  are  questionable  or  dangerous" —  those  persons 
never  did  anything  for  the  world ;  they  canjiot  do  anything  for  the 
world  :  cold  water  never  drove  an  engine,  and  a  body  without 
wings  never  knew  the  danger,  the  mystery,  the  joy  of  flight.  If 
any  man  can  resolve  his  life  into  a  life  of  prudence  he  has  taken 
his  life  into  his  own  hands,  and  God  will  turn  his  prudence  into 
confusion,  and  the  question  will  again  be  asked  ;  "  Where  is  the 
wise.-*  where  is  the  prudent.?  where  is  the  scribe?"  Seek  an 
inspired  life.  Say  to  kind  heaven  every  day,  "  Not  my  will  but 
ihine  be  done.  I  want  to  build  a  tower,  but  not  my  will — thine 
be  done.  I  ask  for  great  success,  but  if  failure  is  better  for  me, 
not  my  will  but  thine  be  done.  Here  is  my  short  programme,  re- 
write it  or  burn  it — not  my  will  but  thine  be  done."  So  the 
apostles  committed  themselves  in  prayer  to  God  for  guidance  in 
this  matter.  So  would  I  take  every  matter  to  God  day  by  day, 
and  say,  "  It  is  of  no  consequence  to  my  poor  little  life,  but  every- 
thing is  of  infinite  consequence  to  thy  holy  and  glorious  kingdom  : 
Let  it  be  according  to  thy  mind,  loving  One,  and  not  according 
to  mine." 

The  disciples  gave  forth  their  lots.  How  pitiful.  In  a  few 
more  days  they  will  have  had  the  Holy  Ghost.  Casting  forth  the 
lots  was  an  Old  Testament  plan,  an  initial  arrangement,  a  small 
introductory  mechanism,  adapted  to  the  infantile  state  of  the  world. 
There  are  men  now,  who  would  like  to  decide  everything  by  lot  : 
it  seems  a  short  and  easy  method,  but  it  is  no  method  in  the  house 
of  God  :  we  are  now  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  If 
you  were  to  write  all  the  creeds  of  Christendom  and  to  put  them 
into  an  urn  and  to  shake  the  urn  after  prayer,  asking  God  that 
the  right  creed  might  come  out,  I  should  not  wonder  but  that 
some  creed  would  fall  out  of  the  urn  that  would  shock  the  sense 
of  nine-tenths  of  Christendom.  There  is  no  such  way  of  discover- 
ing God's  thought.  That  is  not  his  scheme,  and  that  is  not  the 
scheme  of  our  life  :  we  do  not  decide  things  by  lot,  in  our  own 
narrow  sphere  ;  nor  do  we  carry  things  unanimously  ourselves. 
Let  me   make   that   point  as  clear  as  I  can  :  you,  an   individual 


UNANIMOUS  DECISIONS.  39 

man,  do  not  always  carry  things  u7ianimously  :  you  often  have  to 
decide  your  course  by  a  viajority  of  yourself.  Thus,  these  are 
the  voters  that  hve  in  you — Judgment,  Self-interest,  Immediate 
Success,  Curiosity,  Speculation,  Family  Considerations,  Health, 
Time,  and  some  twenty  more  voters  all  have  a  seat  in  the  council 
of  your  mind.  Now  those  who  are  in  favour  of  this  course  say, 
"  Aye,"  those  who  oppose  this  course  say,  "  No,"  and  then  you, 
that  innermost  You,  that  Self  you  have  never  seen,  says,  "The 
ayes  have  it — or  the  noes, ' '  so  that  in  reality  you  do  not  carry 
your  own  personal  decisions  unanimously.  Sometimes  your  judg- 
ment does  not  vote  at  all,  then  the  resolution  is  said  to  be  carried 
nem.  ton.,  no  one  contradicting.  Sometimes  you  carry  your  reso- 
lutions unanimously,  the  whole  man  stands  up  and  says  :  "  Let  it 
be  done  ;"  so  various  are  the  ways  by  Avhich  we  conduct  the  per- 
sonal business  and  discharge  the  individual  responsibilities  of  life. 
When  I  have  wished  in  critical  hours  to  know  what  was  right  to 
do,  I  have  submitted  myself  to  three  tests.  First,  what  has  been 
the  deepest  conviction  of  my  own  mind  ;  secondly,  what  has  been 
the  concurrent  voice  of  my  most  trusted  counsellors  ;  and  thirdly, 
what  has  been  the  fair  inference  to  be  drawn  from  conspiring  cir- 
cumstances }  With  a"  strong  personal  conviction,  with  a  con- 
firmatory judgment  from  my  friends,  with  circumstances  evidently 
conspiring  to  point  in  a  certain  direction,  I  have  said,  "  This  is 
none  other  than  God's  will  :  if  it  be  not.  Lord,  stop  me  at  once, 
for  he  who  does  his  own  will  is  a  fool,  and  he  who  does  Thy  will, 
will  be  lifted  up  into  Thy  heavens.  Not  my  will  but  Thine  be 
done." 

In  the  case  before  us  the  lot  fell  upon  Matthias,  and  you  hear 
no  more  about  him.  I  do  not  want  to  be  a  balloted  minister  :  I 
do  not  want  to  be  here  because  I  had  six  votes,  and  another  man 
had  only  five  :  I  want  to  stand  in  my  ministry  by  right  divine,  by 
qualifications  incontestable,  by  credentials  not  written  by  men  and 
that  cannot  be  expunged  by  men.  That  is  the  calling  of  the 
whole  church  :  do  not  imagine  that  Episcopalianism,  Congrega- 
tionalism, Presbyterianism,  or  Methodism  will  save  you.  We  are 
not  saved  by  names,  traditions,  or  legends,  nor  are  we  an  influen- 
tial church  because  we  bear  an  illustrious  name.  Every  day  needs 
its  own  inspiration,  as  every  day  requires  its  own  bread. 


PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  are  we  not  all  in  one  place,  with  one  accord,  and  is 
not  our  heart  steady  towards  thee  in  love  and  in  eager  expectation  ? 
Have  we  not  come  together  in  the  one  all-uniting  and  all-reconciling  name 
of  Jesus  Christ  thy  Son  ?  Wilt  thou  then  withhold  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  allow  us  to  abide  in  our  own  emptiness  and  poverty  of  mind 
and  heart — wilt  thou  not  rather  open  the  windows  of  heaven  and  pour  out 
a  blessing  until  there  be  not  room  to  receive  it?  Thy  blessing  is  always 
larger  than  our  space,  thou  doest  unto  the  children  who  pray  unto  thee 
exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  they  ask  or  think.  Thy  grace  is  an 
eternal  surprise,  thy  providence  is  a  daily  miracle.  If  thou  dost  not 
astonish  us  by  great  interpositions  which  our  eyes  can  see,  it  is  because 
of  the  daily  appeal  which  thou  dost  make  to  our  understanding  and  our 
heart,  by  thy  care  and  gentle  patience. 

Thou  hast  beset  us  behind  and  before  and  laid  thine  hand  upon  us  : 
thou  knowest  our  downsitting  and  our  uprising,  our  going  out  and  our 
coming  in,  and  there  is  nothing  in  all  our  life  on  which  thine  eye  doth  not 
rest  with  the  anxiety  of  love.  The  very  hairs  of  our  head  are  all  num- 
bered ;  thou  dost  notice  the  falling  sparrow.  Thou  dost  not  neglect  to 
baptize  any  root  that  is  in  all  thine  earth,  thy  great  impartial  sun  throws 
its  infinite  splendour  over  all  thy  works  which  we  behold.  We  will  ex- 
pect great  things  from  thee,  our  hearts  shall  be  warmed  by  a  special 
hope,  our  eyes  shall  look  for  the  blessing  as  if  they  would  bring  it.  Be- 
hold this  desire  is  of  thine  own  creation,  and  this  expectancy  cometh  forth 
from  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  thou  wilt  not  forsake  the  work  of  thine  hands, 
thou  wilt  not  inspire  a  prayer  that  thou  mayest  deny  it. 

Thou  knowest  with  what  psalms  and  loud  thanksgivings  we  have  come 
into  thine  house.  Every  heart  has  brought  its  own  tribu'e  of  love  and 
praise,  no  life  before  thee  in  all  thy  courts  is  dumb,  but  everywhere  is  the 
sign  of  thy  presence  and  thy  life.  Hear  the  thanksgiving  of  those  in 
whose  houses  thou  hast  set  a  great  light,  hear  the  blessing  of  those  who 
praise  thee  for  life  giving  and  for  life  sparing,  and  for  afflictions  survived 
— the  Lord  send  after  such  thanksgiving,  answers  of  inspiration  that  shall 
guard  and  guide,  ennoble  and  bless,  the  praising  life. 

Thou  knowest  who  have  come  with  songs  that  have  in  them  sugges- 
tions of  sorrow  :  they  will  sing  though  it  be  in  the  night  time  :  whilst 
they  sing,  the  darkness  lowers  itself  upon  them,  in  the  very  midst  of  their 
praising  their  hearts  are  stung  with  cruel  memories,  and  in  the  very 


THE  TEXT.  41 


house  of  God,  the  enemy  faces  them  as  if  even  here  they  should  find  no 
rest  on  the  day  thou  hast  made  for  thyself.  The  heart  knoweth  its  own 
bitterness,  the  life  is  aware  of  its  own  agony,  weakness,  poverty,  and 
helplessness.  Are  not  these  the  conditions  upon  which  thou  dost  visit  us 
in  Christ  Jesus— was  it  not  when  there  was  no  arm  to  save,  when  there 
was  no  eye  to  pity,  that  thine  own  eye  and  thine  own  arm  brought  salva- 
tion ?  Thou  dost  address  thyself  to  our  weakness  ;  it  is  because  of  our 
nothingness  that  thou  dost  come  unto  us  ;  when  we  are  weak  then  are  we 
strong  ;  emptied  of  ourselves  and  of  every  broken  trust  we  have  ever 
recorded,  thou  dost  come  to  us  with  the  fulness  of  thy  salvation,  and  with 
the  infinite  sufficiency  of  thy  grace.  Therefore  our  hope  is  in  God  this 
day  :  were  we  rich  and  increased  in  goods  in  our  own  deluded  imagina- 
tion thou  wouldst  not  come  to  us,  but  because  and  though  we  are  blind 
and  naked  and  miserable  and  have  nothing,  and  because  our  tearful  eyes 
are  lifted  up  unto  the  heavens,  thou  wilt  come  to  us  in  Jesus  Christ,  the 
ever-living  Priest,  the  one  Man  whose  prayer  is  ever  acceptable. 

We  put  ourselves  into  thine  hands,  thou  didst  make  us  and  not  we  our- 
selves, we  know  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth  :  we  are  plagued  by  our 
own  ignorance,  we  are  deceived  by  the  pretensions  of  a  strength  that  can 
do  nothing,  we  are  misled  by  spiritual  enemies  on  every  hand,  our  con- 
victions are  trifled  with,  our  best  vows  are  laughed  at,  and  our  endeavors 
after  the  better  life  are  mocked  by  foes  invisible.  Yet  amid  all  this  ex- 
perience of  temptation  and  danger  and  distress,  we  know  that  the  Lord 
liveth,  that  he  regardeth  them  that  put  their  trust  in  him,  and  that  he  will 
not  leave  them  desolate  in  the  time  of  his  visitation.  Lord,  how  long  ? 
Take  our  little  life  into  thy  keeping  :  its  days  are  but  a  handful  that  a 
child  can  number,  yet  is  our  life  the  beginning  of  thine  own — we  begin  to 
be  immortal  as  thine  own  eternity. 

Be  with  those  whom  we  have  left  at  home — those  who  are  afraid  of  the 
cold,  such  as  are  weak  and  in  pain,  and  are  ready  to  die.  With  those  for 
whom  the  physician  can  do  no  more,  before  whom  he  has  let  his  hands 
fall  in  helplessness,  saying  that  his  resources  are  at  an  end.  Thy  re- 
sources have  no  end,  thou  dost  begin  at  the  point  of  our  exhaustion,  and 
when  we  say  there  is  nothing  more,  behold  thou  dost  create  gardens 
round  about  our  feet,  and  lead  us  forth  into  paradises  unsuspected.  Glad- 
den thy  desponding  ones  with  new  hope,  give  them  that  sureness  and 
constancy  of  faith  in  thyself,  before  which  death  dies  away,  or  comes  with 
excuses,  because  we  are  sent  for  to  the  King's  inner  chamber.     Amen. 

Acts  ii.  1-21. 

1.  And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  [the  second  of  the  three  great 
Jewish  feasts,  the  Passover  being  the  first,  and  the  third  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles]  was  fully  come,  they  were  all  with  one  accord  in  one  place 
[the  upper  room]. 

2.  And  suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing 


42  ACTS  IL  I-2I. 


mighty  wind  [lit.,  a  mighty  wind  borne  along],  and  it  filled  all  the  house 
where  they  were  sitting. 

3.  And  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire  [a  com- 
parison, not  a  reality],  and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them. 

4.  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to  speak 
with  other  tongues  [languages  they  had  not  known  before],  as  the  Spirit 
gave  them  utterance. 

5.  And  there  were  dwelling  at  Jerusalem  Jews,  devout  men,  out  of 
every  nation  under  heaven  [it  was  lo  the  Jew  much  to  be  desired  that  he 
might  die  and  be  buried  near  the  holy  city]. 

6.  Now  when  this  was  noised  [cried  abroad],  the  multitude  came  to- 
gether, and  were  confounded,  because  that  every  man  heard  them  speak 
in  his  own  language. 

7.  And  they  were  all  amazed  and  marvelled,  saying  one  to  another. 
Behold,  are  not  all  these  which  speak  Galilseans  ? 

8.  And  how  hear  we  every  man  in  our  own  tongue,  wherein  we  were 
born  ?  [there  was  no  jargon  or  incoherent  speech]. 

g.  Parthians  [from  India  to  the  Tigris],  and  Medes  [east  of  Assyria], 
and  Elamites  [in  the  districf  known  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans  as  Susi- 
ana],  and  the  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia  [between  the  Euphrates  and  the 
Tigris],  and  in  Judaa,  and  Cappadocia,  in  Pontus,  and  Asia. 

10.  Phrygia,  and  Pamphylia  [all  countries  within  Asia  Minor],  in 
Egypt,  and  in  the  parts  of  Libya  [anciently  applied  to  the  African  conti- 
nent], about  Cyrene,  and  strangers  of  Rome  [sojourners  from  Rome], 
Jews  and  proselytes  [persons  who  have  come  over]. 

11.  Cretes  and  Arabians,  we  do  hear  them  speak  in  our  tongues  the 
wonderful  works  of  God  [the  majesty  of  God]. 

12.  And  they  were  all  amazed,  and  were  in  doubt,  saying  one  to  an- 
other, What  meaneth  this  ? 

13.  [But]  Others  mocking  said,  These  men  are  full  of  new  [sweet] 
wine. 

14.  But  Peter,  standing  up  with  the  eleven,  lilted  up  his  voice,  and 
said  unto  them  [spake  forth  unto  them].  Ye  men  of  Judaea,  and  all  ye 
that  dwell  at  Jerusalem,  be  this  known  unto  you,  and  hearken  [the  only 
instance  of  the  word  in  the  New  Testament]  to  my  words  : 

15.  For  these  are  not  drunken,  as  ye  suppose,  seeing  it  is  but  the  third 
hour  of  the  day.  [Wine  was  drunk  by  the  Jews  with  flesh  only,  and  flesh 
was  only  eaten  late  in  the  day.] 

16.  But  this  is  that  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet  Joel  [with  per- 
haps one  exception  the  oldest  prophetic  book]  ; 

17.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  saith  God,  I  will  pour 
out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh  :  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall 
prophesy,  and  your  young  men  shall  see  visions,  and  your  old  men  shall 
dream  dreams  : 

18.  And  on  my  Servants  and  on  my  handmaidens  I  will  pour  out  in 
those  days  of  my  Spirit ;  and  they  shall  prophesy  : 


OPPORTUNITIES.  43 


19.  And  I  will  show  wonders  in  heaven  above,  and  signs  in  the  earth 
beneath  ;  blood,  and  fire,  and  vapour  of  smoke  : 

20.  The  sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood, 
before  that  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord  come  : 

21.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name  of 
the  Lord  [an  expression  which  does  not  occur  in  the  Gospels,  though  so 
common  in  the  Old  Testament]  shall  be  saved. 

THE  OUTPOURING  OP  THE   SPIRIT. 

MARK  the  very  critical  care  of  tlie  divine  Head  of  the 
Church,  in  fixing  special  iiines  for  the  communication  of 
special  blessings.  Here  we  have  the  largest  possible  opportunity 
which  God  himself  could  have  secured  for  the  communication  of 
his  supreme  gift.  Pentecost  was  a  harvest  festival  :  about  that  time 
people  could  come  with  the  least  degree  of  danger,  from  vari- 
ous outlying  countries  and  districts.  In  the  spring  time  the  sea 
was  troubled  violently,  and  in  the  winter  almost  impassable,  but  in 
the  quiet  solemn  harvest  time  everybody  seemed  to  be  more  at 
liberty  than  at  any  other  period  of  the  year,  and  the  sea  and  the 
land  seemed  rather  to  invite  than  to  repel  the  traveller.  So  at  the 
very  time  when  men  were  released  from  the  greatest  pressure  of 
business,  and  when  the  elements  were  most  favourable  to  voyaging 
and  journeying,  God  came  down  in  the  great  heaven-wind  and 
the  great  heaven-fire  and  owned  and  crowned  the  redeemed  and 
expectant  church. 

There  are  opportunities  even  in  divine  providence.  The  days 
are  not  all  alike  to  God.  Not  only  has  he  chosen  what  we  call 
the  first  day  or  the  seventh  day,  as  a  day  of  rest — if  you  read  care- 
fully the  whole  record  of  his  providential  dealings  with  the  world, 
you  will  find  that  he  has  chosen  a  hundred  days.  We  in  our  nar- 
row interpretation  of  things  bind  him  down  to  one  day,  whereas 
is  there  in  reality  a  single  day  in  our  life  that  he  has  not  a  lien 
upon.?  He  may  not  say,  "I  will  claim  most  of  every  one  of 
those  days,  from  the  very  beginning  to  the  very  end  thereof  :  and 
one  day  I  will  have  all  for  myself,"  but  does  he  not  come  in  upon 
birthdays,  days  of  deliverance,  times  of  surprise,  days  of  unusual 
sorrow,  periods  wlien  anxiety  sharpened  itself  into  agony,  and 
when  the  whole  life  seemed  to  be  one  cruel  and  burning  pain  1 
Has  he  not  come  in  upon  our  wedding  days,  and  joyous  days  of 


ACTS  II.  I-2I. 


every  name  and  kind,  saying  in  gentle  whispers,  "  I  have  some 
share  in  these?"  Let  your  drinking  be  a  sacrament,  let  your 
eating  be  a  religious  festival,  let  all  your  bell-ringing  and  heart- 
enjoyment  have  in  them  subtle  suggestions  of  divinity  and  of  re- 
ligious sacrifice. 

God  is  not  the  God  of  one  day  only  ;  he  takes  up  the  one  day 
and  specially  holds  it  before  us,  but  only  symbolically.  What  he 
does  with  that  day  he  wants  to  do  with  all  the  others,  but  his  is  an 
educating  and  not  a  driving  process  ;  it  is  little  by  little  that  he 
moves,  almost  always  imperceptibly,  nevertheless  most  constantly 
and  surely.  He  will  not  rest  until  he  has  secured  every  whit  of 
us,  judgment,  imagination,  conscience,  will,  and  every  element 
that  enters  into  manhood — and  we  shall  be  sanctified,  body,  soul 
and  spirit. 

Not  only  did  God  seize  the  largest  possible  opportunity,  but  he 
also  availed  himself  of  the  largest  meynorial  feast  \.t\o\\xv  in  Israel. 
There  was  no  feast  like  the  Pentecost ;  there  were  three  great 
things  done  at  that  time- — there  was  a  remembrance  of  bondage. 
This  feast  was  fifty  days  after  the  leaving  of  Egypt,  and  was  fixed 
on  account  of  the  leaving  of  Egypt  :  it  was  a  feast  of  deliverance 
and  triumph,  and  yet  having  in  it,  sobering  it  and  chastening  it 
all  the  way  through,  memories  of  cruelties  endured  and  of  oppres- 
sions survived.  Thus  whilst  the  heart  was  tender,  while  Egypt 
seemed  to  be  just  behind  Israel  like  a  threatening  spirit,  and  whilst 
Israel  was  confident  of  its  final  escape  from  thraldom,  just  then,  at 
a  critical  point,  visible  to  no  eye  but  the  eye  of  Omniscience,  was 
this  special  communication  of  divine  grace  made  to  the  human 
heart. 

At  the  Pentecost  all  the  sacrifices  were  offered.  On  other  occa- 
sions there  might  be  partial  sacrifices,  but  at  the  pentecostal  season 
the  whole  series  of  sacrifices  was  gone  through,  and  one  became 
added  to  the  whole,  the  offering  of  two  wave-loaves,  two  loaves 
made  of  fine  flour  and  leavened,  were  taken  up  and  waved,  before 
the  Lord,  in  token  that  loneliness  had  given  place  to  union,  that 
isolation  had  entered  into  companionship,  that  that  which  before 
was  without  fermentation,  inspiration,  and  movement,  had  now 
begun  to  lift  itself  towards  the  heavens  in  wordless  but  most  sig- 
nificant aspiratioa  and  prayer. 


WITH  ONE  ACCORD. 


45 


At  the  Pentecost  it  was  specially  required  that  Israel  should 
remember  Sinai  and  the  giving  of  the  law.  Thus  all  through, 
Israel  was  called  upon  to  bear  the  memory  of  thunder  and  light- 
ning and  earthquake,  and  a  great  shaking  of  earth' s  stablest  things. 
Will  there  be  any  other  period  in  all  the  history  of  the  earth  yet  to 
come,  dating  from  the  giving  of  the  law,  when  amid  thunders  and 
great  wind-storms  and  lightnings  there  shall  be  given  some  better 
gift  than  the  stern  law,  before  which  all  men  fell  down  as  self- 
accusing  offenders  ?  Will  the  great  voices,  the  solemn  thunders, 
the  appalling  fires,  always  be  used  for  the  giving  of  mere  law  ? 
Or  will  they  one  day  be  turned  as  it  were  into  a  sanctuary  from 
the  midst  of  which  God  shall  breathe  his  spirit  of  peace  and  rest 
and  sanctification  and  love  ? 

On  this  occasion  we  have  the  largest  possible  tmion.  For  example, 
here  is  the  largest  possible  union  of  nationalities.  There  were 
dwelling  in  Jerusalem  Jews,  devout  men  out  of  every  nation  under 
heaven.  Jerusalem  was  never  so  full  as  then — there  was  therefore 
a  union  in  the  introductory  sense  of  mere  nationality  and  associa- 
tion. There  was  always  the  largest  union  of  desire.  Note  the 
word  accord.  The  instruments  were  all  in  tune  together  :  there 
was  but  one  feeling,  one  wish,  one  desire  ;  the  assembly  was  with- 
out mental  distraction  or  moral  discord  ;  quarrelling,  clamour, 
suspicion,  jealousy,  envy — these  were  all  outside  ;  within  the 
gathered  circle  there  was  but  one  spirit,  one  expectation,  one 
hope,  one  growing  wonder — the  silence  that  precedes  revelations. 

Have  we  known  the  mystery  of  silence,  or  has  there  in  our  very 
own  quietness  always  been  an  undertone  of  trouble  ?  Know  we 
the  restlessness  of  an  eloquence  so  eloquent  that  it  says  nothing  ? 
Or  are  our  ears  filled  with  minor  noises  and  are  a  hundred  collo- 
quies proceeding  within  us  ?  If  so,  it  is  not  along  that  noisy 
thoroughfare  that  God  comes  to  the  heart.  God  has  promised 
nothing  to  disunion  :  the  man  that  creates  disunion  in  the  church 
must  instantly  be  put  away  :  he  is  worse  than  an  infidel,  he  is 
worse  than  a  drunkard,  a  liar,  a  thief.  The  man  who  utters  one 
jarring  note  in  God's  assembly  is  a  thief  in  heaven  ;  he  is  not 
stealing  some  property  that  was  mine,  'tis  his,  'tis  trash — he  is 
stealing  the  very  riches  of  the  divine  grace. 

The  Christians,  then,  were  gathered  with  one  accord :  that  is  the 
eternal  term.      They  were  also  gathered  in   ouq  place  :  that  is  the 


46  ACTS  II.  1-21. 


transient  word.  The  place  is  nothing,  the  accord  is  ever}-thing. 
At  the  time  the  place  was  of  importance,  but  since  that  time  place 
is  nothing.  Neither  in  this  mountain  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem, 
because  at  both  will  men  worship  the  Father  ;  but  the  accord,  the 
union,  the  trusting  heart,  the  rhythmic  fellowship — this  is  the 
eternal  quantity,  and  he  who  meddles  with  it  is  a  violator  within 
the  ver}'-  shadow  of  the  altar.  Yet  who  thinks  of  this  .?  If  a  poor 
moral  cripple  should  be  caught  suddenly  in  some  moral  fault,  then 
is  the  imperfect  and  blind  church  enraged  with  him,  but  the  man 
who  is  speaking  ungracious  words,  making  unlovely  statements 
breathing  a  spirit  of  dissension  in  the  church — who  takes  note  of 
him  P  Number  me  with  the  wildest  drunkards  that  were  ever  lost 
in  the  wild  night,  rather  than  with  those  men  who  with  bated 
breath  even,  can  seek  to  mar  the  union,  the  sweet  accord,  of 
Christ's  redeemed  church.  I  know  of  no  gospel  for  such  men. 
It  hath  not  entered  into  the  infinite  compassion  of  God  to  have 
pity  upon  them.  To  all  the  rest  of  you  I  have  gospels  high  as 
heaven,  wide  as  the  horizon,  but  to  the  marplot  in  the  church,  to 
the  spirit  of  disunion,  to  the  disciple  of  dissension,  God  has  given 
me  no  message  except  the  message  of  anathema  and  excommuni- 
cation. 

Then  we  have  the  /he  largest  possible  bestawmeni  of  the  difine  gift. 
There  is  one  word  in  the  first  verse  which  must  not  be  omitted, 
and  that  is  the  word  all.  By  that  word  all  you  must  not  under- 
stand the  apostles  only  :  the  word  ALL  includes  the  apostles,  the 
disciples,  the  followers  of  Christ  of  every  name  and  degree.  This 
suggestion  is  of  the  utmost  practical  importance  :  we  are  not  to 
sit  aside  and  say  we  have  no  part  or  lot  in  this  bestowment  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  :  we  arc  not  to  suppose  that  popes,  prelates, 
preachers,  ministers,  leaders,  alone  have  this  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  This  is  a  common  gift,  accept  it,  ask  foi*  it,  claim  it  in 
Christ's  name.  If  men  being  evil  know  how  to  give  good  gifts 
unto  their  children,  how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father 
give  the  Holy  Spirit  unto  them  that  ask  him  }  At  this  moment  I 
happen  to  occupy  the  level  of  what  is  called  a  minister,  but  on 
that  level  I  claim  no  more  of  God's  Spirit  and  grace  than  the 
humblest  man  in  all  the  church  may  claim.  Get  rid  of  any  idea 
that  would  lead  you  to  worship  the  priest  :  cleanse  yourselves  of 
that  defilement.     We  are  all  God's  clergy.     We  are  a  royal  priest- 


HOW  GREAT  PROMISES  ARE  FULFILLED.         47 

hood,  we  have  to  maintain  the  priesthood  of  behevers  :  I  am  not 
ordained  by  z. priest,  I  am  ordained  by  ^priesthood.  To  this  min- 
istry I  am  not  called  by  one  man  bearing  any  distinctive  name  of 
official  pre-eminence,  but  called,  if  truly  called,  by  the  consenting 
voice  of  the  priesthood  of  the  church. 

We  must  not  imagine  that  a  minister  merely  as  such  has  greater 
spiritual  privileges  than  a  mechanic.  It  must  not  be  supposed 
that  because  a  man  is  entrusted  with  a  high  trusteeship,  that  there- 
fore God  has  been  partial  to  him.  We  are  all  in  the  priesthood, 
we  are  equally  priests  before  God,  our  priesthood  has  no  standing 
but  in  our  holifiess.  Not  in  our  intellectual  capacity,  not  in  our 
technical  training,  not  in  our  official  status,  but  in  the  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  will  and  of  the  heart — the  total  sacrifice  of  the  man  to 
the  God. 

As  to  the  church  all  meeting  in  one  place,  do  not  believe  in  a 
place-church.  God's  church  is  everywhere.  Many  of  you  belong 
to  God's  church  and  may  not  know  it.  Poor  outsider,  you  think 
that  the  sect  is  the  church  :  that  is  your  fundamental  sophism. 
What  is  your  heart,  what  is  your  heart's  desire,  what  is  the  upper- 
most wish  of  your  mind,  what  is  the  sovereign  purpose  of  your 
life  .-*  If  you  can  say  it  is  to  know  God's  will  and  do  it,  to  find 
out  God  unto  perfection  and  serve  him  and  be  like  him,  then  you 
are  in  the  church,  whatever  particular  place  you  may  occupy. 
And  you  who  were  born  but  yesterday,  are  as  much  a  priest  as  the 
venerable  teacher  who  is  about  to  close  the  record  and  pass  on  to 
his  higher  status,  only  that  he  has  the  advantage  of  you  in  time,  it 
may  be  also  of  opportunity,  but  speaking  of  the  nature,  essence 
and  substance  of  things,  you  also,  new-born  child  in  Christ's  king- 
dom, are  a  priest  in  Christ,  unto  God. 

Jesus  Christ  made  a  great  promise  to  his  disciples  when  they 
asked  him  whether  at  that  time  he  would  restore  the  kingdom 
unto  Israel.  It  is  always  interesting  to  observe  how  great  promises 
are  fullfiled.  The  very  greatness  of  the  promise  necessitates  that 
the  fulfilment  of  it  shall  be  upon  a  scale  proportioned  to  itself.  We 
have  often  been  amazed  because  we  have  wondered  how  Jesus 
Christ  would  find  equivalents  of  the  great  propositions  which  he 
laid  before  the  people.  We  were  unable,  for  example,  to  conject- 
ure how  he  would  /cave  the  world  ;  we  insisted  that  the  Man  who 


ACTS  II.  I-2I. 


came  into  the  world  as  no  other  man  ever  came  should  not  be 
allowed  to  leave  the  world  in  an  ordinary  way,  should  not  be 
allowed  to  lure  us  at  the  one  end,  and  mock  us  by  a  common 
place  at  the  other  ;  we  must  see  him  go  out.  And  when  we  were 
told  that  he  ascended,  imagination  said,  "It  is  enough,  it  is  in 
infinite  in  grandeur,  and  it  satisfies  the  mind  in  its  highest 
moments." 

Now  we  have  the  question  before  us,  how  will  he  fulfil  the  prom- 
ise which  was  given  to  his  apostles,  when  he  told  them  to  wait 
until  they  were  endued  with  power  from  on  high  .?  That  would 
be  no  commonplace  realisation  of  that  promise,  nor  was  there 
one.  "  And  suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a 
rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where  they  were 
sitting.  And  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven  tongues  like  as  of 
fire,  and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them.  And  they  were  all  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the 
Spirit  gave  them  utterance."  Again  imagination  says,  "It  is 
enough,  I  knew  not,"  my  feeble  fancy  continued,  "  how  that  great 
promise  would  be  carried  into  effect,  but  hearing  as  I  do  of  the 
suddenness  of  the  coming  I  remembered  that  the  Lord  will  sud- 
denly come  to  his  temple,  and  remembering  as  I  do,  when  poor 
Elijah  hid  himself  in  an  unbuilt  chamber  in  the  rock  there  went 
by  him  fire,  wind,  earthquake,  and  then  the  still  small  voice,  so  I 
see  here  the  old  ministry,  the  grand  old  agency  of  rushing  mighty 
wund,  cloven  tongues  as  of  fire,  sudden  seizure  of  things,  and  mar- 
vellous world-enclosing  eloquence."  God  always  takes  care  to 
satisfy  the  imagination,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  and  often  to  confound 
it.  Specially  does  he  take  care  to  satisfy  the  tJioral  nature,  and  to 
call  upon  conscience  to  say  "  It  is  right." 

We  see  from  this  revelation  how  helpless  we  are  in  the  matter  of 
spiritual  revivals.  What  did  the  apostles  do  towards  this  demon- 
stration of  divine  power .?  They  did  nothing  but  wait,  pray,  hope, 
expect — what  the  world,  so  fond  of  action,  would  call  nothing. 
That  is  all  we  can  do  towards  a  right  revival  of  religion  and  virtue. 
Have  nothing  to  do  with  those  persons  who  organise  revivals, 
beware  of  those  persons  who  lay  traps  for  God,  have  nothing  to  do 
with,  any  mechanised  resurrection  of  spiritual  life.  Let  us  read  the 
word  "  suddenly,"  reverently,  prayerfully,  let  us  read  it  with  secret 
expectation  that  the  Lord  may  at  any  moment  come,  the  darkest 


THE  GIFT  OF  FIRE.  49 

hour  of  the  night,  or  at  cockcrow,  or  early  in  the  morning,  and 
our  business  is  only  to  wait  and  watch  and  lovingly  listen  as  if  we 
might  at  any  moment  hear  the  first  foot- beat  on  the  far-away  road. 

We  need  to  know  the  power  of  wailing.  There  are  those  who  tell 
us  that  we  ought  to  be  doing  something  practical,  and  they  degrade 
that  word  "  practical  "  into  a  kind  of  mechanical  exercise.  Is  he 
doing  nothing,  who  continues  steadfast  in  prayer  ?  Is  he  doing 
nothing,  who  speaks  great  words  of  wisdom  and  who  calms  the 
heart  in  the  midst  of  its  searching  trouble  .^  Is  he  not  a  great 
preacher  and  a  great  evangelist,  who,  by  sympathy,  love,  tender- 
ness, includes  all  men  in  his  wrestling  prayer  and  gives  all  men 
who  hear  him  to  feel  that  every  case  has  been  lifted  up  in  a  light 
where  the  king  and  the  angels  can  well  see  it .?  To  be  practical 
is  not  to  be  demonstrative,  to  be  building  wood,  hay,  stone  and 
metal,  it  may  be  to  give  thought,  to  offer  suggestion,  to  stimulate 
the  mind,  to  check  the  ambition,  to  elevate  the  purpose  of  life. 
The  disciples  and  apostles,  previous  to  Pentecost,  did  everything 
by  doing  nothing. 

We  see  also  how  unmistakable  fire  is.  Who  can  mistake  fire  .-* 
The  difference  between  one  man  and  another  is  a  difference  of 
heat.  Heat,  or  fire,  is  the  secret  of  all  things.  God  is  fire.  It 
is  so  in  all  things.  The  difference  between  one  reader  and  another 
is  a  difference  of  fire  ;  the  difference  between  one  musician  and 
another  is  that  one  man  is  all  fire,  and  the  other  man  all  ice. 
The  difference  between  one  preacher  and  another  is  a  difference  of 
fire.  Who  can  mistake  the  gift .''  Did  not  our  hearts  burn  within 
us  while  he  opened  unto  us  the  Scriptures  ?  So  with  a  true  revi- 
val :  we  shall  find  it  manifesting  and  vindicating  itself,  not  in  an 
accession  of  intellectual  cleverness,  but  in  that  burning  glowing 
fervour  which  purifies  whatever  it  touches,  consuming  the  dross 
and  leaving  the  fine  gold  for  the  king's  using. 


VI. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  may  we  not  be  as  fools  but  as  wise,  having  under- 
standing of  the  meaning  of  things,  and  knowing  what  thou  art  doing  in 
all  the  days  as  they  brighten  and  die.  Thou  art  alway  most  surely  fulfil- 
ling thy  Holy  Word — may  we  be  numbered  amongst  those  who  are  in- 
spired with  a  great  expectation,  and  who  are  constantly  looking  for  the 
Lord's  coming.  Surely  thou  art  alway  coming,  thou  art  nearer  now  than 
ever  before  ;  give  us  the  insight  which  sees  thee  in  the  events  of  the  day, 
and  so  ennoble  our  religious  faculty  that  we  may  be  able  to  interpret  unto 
others  the  movements  which  appear  to  be  common  or  degraded.  Enable 
us  by  thy  presence  in  the  soul,  so  to  see  what  is  transpiring,  as  to 
acknowledge  thine  hand  in  it,  and  to  be  enabled  to  point  out  to  others  the 
gracious  rule  of  thy  sovereignty. 

Thou  art  expressing  thyself  to  our  vision  and  feeling  and  thought,  in 
every  occurrence  of  the  time.  Shall  there  be  evil  in  the  city  and  the  Lord 
hath  not  done  it — shall  the  devil  have  larger  scope  without  the  Lord  hav- 
ing given  it  to  him — doth  hell  enlarge  its  borders  without  permission 
from  heaven  ?  The  Lord  reigneth  ;  there  is  but  one  God  and  his  name  is 
great :  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand  all  things  rest,  in  his  heart  is  the  centre 
of  all  force.  This  faith  thou  hast  taught  us  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
and  Priest,  through  whom  we  have  large  access  unto  the  throne,  and 
whose  name  gives  the  prevalence  of  power  to  the  mean  petitions  which 
our  own  hearts  suggest.  If  thou  dost  so  enable  us  to  read  the  signs  that 
are  passing  around  us,  we  shall  be  no  more  children  tossed  to  and  fro. 
visited  by  sudden  and  irregular  tumults,  the  prey  and  victim  of  all  uproar 
and  accident,  but  in  our  inmost  soul,  as  in  a  sanctuary  hidden  from  the 
touch  and  the  gaze  of  others,  we  shall  have  thine  own  quietness,  the  peace 
which  maketh  glad.  Enable  us  to  know  that  all  we  are  and  have  cometh 
down  from  the  heavens  shining  with  daily  blessing  and  offering  continual 
hospitality.  Thou  dost  lead  us  by  ways  that  we  do  not  know,  yea  in 
paths  from  whose  entrance  we  have  shrunk  ;  thou  hast  found  for  us  gar- 
dens of  flowers  and  springing  wells  and  places  of  secure  repose — so  will 
we  no  more  interfere  with  thee,  we  will  not  meddle  with  God,  we  will 
stand  in  Christ  and  say.  Not  our  will  but  thine  be  done  :  it  is  the  only 
wise  will  and  good,  and  in  us  there  is  no  thought  of  excellence,  we  live 
and  move  and  have  our  being  in  God.  God's  will  be  done  though  it  be 
death  to  us,  yea  God's  will  be  done  though  our  chosen  places  be  turned 
upside  down  and  the  nest  in  which  we  have  hidden  ourselves  be  torn  to 


THE  PRAYER.  51 


pieces.  God's  will  be  done  :  lead  us  on  as  thou  wilt  and  how  thou  wilt, 
only  hide  in  us  the  sure  and  indestructible  confidence  that  thou  art  under- 
taking our  life  for  us,  and  that  in  the  end  thou  wilt  show  us  the  goodness 
and  glory  of  thy  purpose. 

We  have  come  up  to  praise  thee  with  unanimous  song.  Thou  hast 
been  good  to  us  with  infinite  grace,  thou  hast  spared  nothing  from  our  lot 
that  would  brighten  and  ennoble  or  sanctify  it,  and  for  this  providence  of 
thine  we  now  bow  down  ourselves  before  thee  in  grateful  and  delighted 
homage.  We  have  nothing  that  we  have  not  received,  what  we  have 
received  is  enriched  with  thine  own  image  and  superscription,  and  if  we 
have  given  aught  to  thee,  of  thine  own  have  we  given  thee,  and  the  glory 
shall  be  thine. 

For  all  chastening  and  mellowing  providences  we  bless  thee,  for  every- 
thing that  teaches  us  the  brevity  of  our  life,  for  all  helpfulness  towards  the 
true  enjoyment  of  thy  providence  we  now  laud  and  magnify  thee  in  our 
common  psalm.  Surely  thou  dost  not  waste  the  days  upon  us,  all  the 
sunshine  is  not  lost  upon  our  mean  life,  thou  dost  purpose  the  growth  of 
our  soul  and  its  ultimate  sanctification  and  complete  purity.  Towards 
this  end  thou  art  working  in  divers  ways.  We  humbly  pray  thee  for 
growing  insight  into  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  for  the  spirit  of  sympathy 
with  the  very  heart  of  Christ,  for  the  tenderness  of  soul  which  feels  every 
tear  the  Saviour  shed,  and  that  responds  with  penitence  to  the  blood 
which  he  shed  in  atonement  for  the  world.  Bind  us  to  the  Saviour  of 
souls,  put  both  our  hands  and  our  whole  heart  upon  the  cross  of  Christ, 
and  bound  to  that  sacred  symbol  of  thy  love,  thj'  law  and  righteousness, 
may  we  live  the  rest  of  our  time  in  the  very  spirit  and  under  the  very 
blessing  of  Christ. 

Wherein  we  have  done  wrong,  thy  pity  will  be  greater  than  our  sin. 
We  cannot  go  beyond  thy  grace  in  any  extent  of  guilt.  Where  sin 
abounds,  grace  doth  much  more  abound,  and  as  for  the  blackness  of  our 
guilt,  lo,  it  becomes  as  wool  and  as  snow  under  the  cleansing  blood. 

Thou  knowest  our  life,  it  is  in  our  breath,  it  is  a  vapour  that  cometh 
for  a  little  time  and  then  vanisheth  away.  It  is  as  a  flying  shadow,  or  a 
hastening  post,  as  a  shuttle  quickly  moving  from  point  to  point  We  die 
whilst  we  live,  we  breathe  ourselves  away,  every  pulse  that  beats  leaves 
but  the  number  less.  So  teach  us  to  number  our  days  as  to  apply  our 
hearts  unto  wisdom.  The  year  is  dying,  the  year  we  once  called  new, 
under  the  morning  of  which  we  breathed  our  salutations  and  loving 
wishes  to  one  another.  Behold  the  golden  vessel  is  being  lifted  up  again 
into  the  heavens  whence  it  descended.  Help  us  to  know  that  our  days 
are  a  handful,  that  a  child  can  name  the  sum  thereof  :  whatsoever  our 
hand  findeth  to  do  may  we  do  it  with  our  might. 

Pity  all  who  need  thy  pity,  save  us  one  and  all,  look  not  upon  us  in  the 
light  of  thy  righteousness,  for  who  can  stand  when  thou  dost  appear  ?  but 
look  upon  us  in  Christ  and  through  the  cross,  and  from  the  altar  of  his 
sacrifice,  and  hear  us  when  we  say,  Thanks  be  unto  God  for  his  unspeak- 


52  ACTS  11.  21. 


able  gift.  Deliver  us  from  all  embarrassment,  show  us  what  we  ought  to 
do  on  the  morrow,  give  us  unexpected  answers  to  surprising  difficulties, 
lead  us  over  the  road  when  we  cannot  see  it,  when  it  is  too  perilous  to  be 
trodden  by  human  feet,  lift  us  up  in  thine  arms  and  carry  us  clean  over. 
Let  the  old  man  forget  his  age  in  the  inrush  of  new  life  and  the  inshining 
of  celestial  hope,  let  the  feeble  forget  his  weakness  by  an  instant  access 
of  spiritual  strength,  and  let  the  young  be  lifted  up  into  a  chastened  and 
joyous  maturity  because  of  the  conscious  presence  of  God. 

Nurse  our  sick  ones  :  they  are  too  delicate  for  us  to  touch,  our  gentlest 
embrace  would  but  crush  them  in  this  very  last  feebleness — make  their 
bed  in  their  affliction,  for  our  rough  hands  cannot  touch  it,  speak  com- 
fortably to  them,  for  in  our  voice  there  is  no  music  ;  heal  those  whom  the 
physician  has  surrendered  ;  when  all  human  aid  has  gone  out  of  the  door 
dejected,  helpless,  confessed  to  be  exhausted,  go  thou  in  and  show  us  that 
our  ex  .emity  is  the  opportunity  of  God.     Amen. 

THE  OUTPOURING  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 
Acts  ii.-21. 

(^Continued. 

IT  is  in  the prestmce  of  the  Holy  Ghost  that  we  find  the  true  union 
of  the  church.  There  are  diversities  of  operation,  and  must 
always  be  such,  but  diversity  of  operation  does  not  destroy,  or  in 
any  degree  impair,  the  unity  of  the  Spirit.  There  is  one  Spirit, 
there  is  one  faith,  though  there  be  many  creeds,  there  is  one 
baptism,  though  there  be  many  forms  of  it,  there  is  one  Lord, 
though  He  shine  in  a  thousand  different  Hghts.  We  have  been 
vainly  looking  for  union  in  unforviity,  and  because  of  the  lack  of 
uniformity  we  have  oftentimes  most  ignorantly  mourned  the 
absence  of  tinion.  Consider  how  irrational  is  such  mourning,  and 
how  it  is  rebuked  in  the  most  practical  terms  by  all  that  we  know, 
even  of  the  lower  life  with  which  we  are  most  familiar.  Is  the 
human  race  one  or  many  .?  is  there  any  difficulty  in  identifying  a 
man,  whatever  his  colour,  form,  stature,  language,  or  individuality 
of  expression  .? — yet  are  there  any  two  men  exactly  alike  P  Con- 
sider how  few  are  the  elements  which,  so  to  speak,  God  had  to 
work  upon  in  making  men,  and  yet  see  the  infinite  variety  which 
he  has  wrought  out  of  the  few.  Man  has,  say,  some  seven 
features,  forehead,  eyes,  nose,  mouth,  chin,  form  or  contour, 
colour  or  coinplexion,  so  that  they  roughly  sum  up  the  man,  yet 
out  of  those  seven  notes  what  music  of  facial  expression  has  God 


UNITY  IN  DIVERSITY.  53 

wrought  !  Out  of  the  twelve  hundred  milHons  of  men  now  on 
the  face  of  the  globe,  who  can  find  two  absolutely  alike  and 
identical?  Yet,  "God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of 
men  :' '  the  unity  is  not  in  the  form,  but  in  something  below  the 
form,  yea,  in  a  something  so  subtle  that  it  cannot  be  expressed  in 
image  or  in  word,  "  One  touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole  world 
kin." 

Do  you  therefore  think  of  asking  whether  these  two  men  can 
really  belong  to  the  same  human  nature  :  namely,  a  man  black 
and  a  man  white  ;  a  man  speaking  an  unknown  tongue,  and  a 
man  speaking  the  language  with  which  you  are  most  familiar  ;  a 
man  with  habits  diametrically  opposed  to  the  habits'  of  other  men  ? 
Does  it  ever  occur  to  you  to  ask  the  irrational  question,  whether 
these  two  belong  to  a  common  stock  ?  You  do  not  doubt  the 
unity  of  the  humaniiy,  you  cCmment  upon  diversities  of  tempera- 
ment and  peculiarities  of  habits,  but  you  never  think  of  striking 
at  the  central  and  vital  unity  of  the  race. 

It  is  so  in  the  Christian  church.  The  Christian  church  is  split 
up  into  a  score  of  sects,  but  the  church  itself  is  one.  When  we 
seize  that  idea  in  all  its  range  and  significance,  we  shall  not  be 
seeking  any  mechanical  unification  of  Christendom.  Christians  are 
one,  the  world  over.  To  those  who  look  upon  things  from  the 
outside  merely,  it  would  seem  impossible  that  the  Arminian  and 
the  Calvinist  can  both  be  readers  of  the  same  Bible,  and  worship- 
pers of  the  same  God.  But  their  unity  is  not  found  in  formality, 
in  credal  expression,  in  propositional  theology,  in  ecclesiastical 
arrangement  ;  down  in  the  centre  of  the  heart,  in  a  place  untouched, 
so  to  say,  by  human  fingers,  there  lies  the  common  organic  nerve 
that  unites  Christendom  in  its  worship  and  in  its  hope. 

It  is  a  common  complaint  amongst  persons  who  do  not  look 
deeper  than  the  surface,  that  Christians  are  much  divided  ;  they 
are  only  divided  in  outward  expression,  their  division  as  compared 
with  their  union  is  as  a  small  drop  in  the  bucket  ;  when  the 
CROSS  is  touched,  the  defence  never  comes  from  any  one  section 
of  the  church,  the  whole  church  with  unanimous  love  and  loyalty 
rushes  to  the  vindication. 

This  has  been  exquisitely  illustrated  from  another  point  of  view 
by  Mr.  Robertson  of  Brighton,  who  calls  our  attention  to  the 
diversities  which  occur  in  the  expression  of  sorrow,  and  also  in  the 


54  ACTS  II.  21. 


expression  of  worship  and  of  loyalty.  He  reminds  us  of  the  East- 
ern sufferer,  who  throws  himself  upon  the  ground,  and  lies  there 
prostrate,  crying  piteously  and  vehemently.  The  Western  may  be 
silent  and  self-controlled,  but  suffering  all  the  while  in  his  very 
heart  a  mortal  agony.  Is  there  therefore  a  difference  in  sorrow .' 
The  difference  is  not  in  the  sorrow,  but  in  the  mayiifestaiion  of  the 
sorrow.  So  the  Oriental  before  his  king  falls  flat  on  the  ground, 
and  the  Briton  before  his  God  only  kneels.  Is  there,  then,  a 
difference  in  the  spirit  of  worship  ?  The  meaning  is  the  same,  the 
whole  conception  is  the  same,  a  conception  of  lowliness,  self- 
insufificiency,  homage,  dependence,  loyalty.  Who,  therefore, 
would  argue  anything  from  the  superficial  comments  of  men  who 
remark  upon  the  diversities  of  the  modes  of  worship  which  are 
found  throughout  Christendom  ?  The  Papist  and  the  Protestant 
have  different  forms  ;  those  who  follow  symbolic  worship,  and 
those  who  are  devoted  to  simplicity  simplified,  are  all  meaning,  in 
proportion  to  their  sincerity,  the  same  thing.  He  therefore  will, 
in  my  judgment,  mis-spend  his  time,  and  will  throw  away  his 
strength  for  naught,  who  seeks  to  mechanise  the  unity  of  the 
church,  and  to  have  one  form  or  one  liturgy,  singing  out  of  one 
hymn-book,  breathing  praise  through  the  medium  of  the  same 
music,  and  he  will  be  on  the  right  road,  and  will  have  a  prophet's 
power,  yea,  about  him  shall  be  the  shining  of  an  angel,  who  tells 
us  that  union  is  in  the  heart,  in  sympathy,  in  meaning,  in  the  ulti- 
mate/^/r/t^j-^  of  the  mind,  which  is  to  glorify  God  in  a  noble,  holy 
and  beneficent  life. 

Have  ive  received  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  The  question  does  not 
admit  of  hesitation  as  to  its  answer.  No  man  can  mistake  the 
summer  sun  when  he  sees  it ;  he  will  not  come  home  with  a  half 
tale  of  having  seen  some  kind  of  light,  but  is  not  quite  sure  what 
it  is  or  whence  it  shone,  whether  it  was  a  gas  jet,  or  the  shining 
of  an  electric  light,  or  a  new  star.  The  sun  needs  no  introduc- 
tion, has  no  signature  but  its  own  glor}',  and  needs  take  no  oath 
in  proof  of  its  identity.  The  shadows  know  it,  and  flee  away  ; 
the  flowers,  and  open  their  little  hearts  to  its  blessing  ;  all  the  hills 
and  valleys  know  it  and  quiver  with  a  new  joy. 

We  may  have  \\\Q.form,  and  not  the  spirit.  The  apostle  speaks 
of  some  who  having  the  form  of  godliness  deny  the  power  thereof. 
Herein  it  is  that  so  many  men  get  wrong  in  their  comments  upon 


THE  NEED   OF  UNION  WITH  CHRIST.  55 

Christianity.  They  say  the  great  thing  after  all  for  a  man  to  do  is 
to  do  good.  That  is  correct.  But  what  would  you  think  of  me  if 
I  said  the  great  thing  after  all  is  for  a  train  to  go,  when  the  train 
has  not  been  attached  to  the  engine  ?  You  are  perfectly  right  in 
saying  that  the  train  is  useless  if  it  does  not  go,  and  if  the  train  is 
going  it  is  all  right.  But  you  must  bring  within  your  argument 
the  fact  that  the  engine  could  not  go  without  the/r^,  that  the  train 
cannot  go  unless  attached  to  the  engine,  that  the  engine  and  the 
train  move,  vibrate,  fly,  under  the  power  of  light;  the  light  that 
was  sealed  up  in  the  bins  of  the  earth  ten  thousand  ages  ago,  is 
driving  your  great  locomotives  to-day  !  When,  therefore,  you  tell 
me  that  a  man  must  do  good,  a  man  must  be  kind  and  noble  and 
forgiving  and  excellent,  and  that  is  enough,  you  omit  from  your 
statement  the  vital  consideration  that  we  can  only  do  these  things 
as  we  are  inspired  by  the  indwelling  Spirit  of  God. 

I  see  before  me  at  this  moment  certain  cords  suspended  from 
the  roof  of  this  building.  *  We  are,  I  understand,  about  to  attempt 
the  experiment  of  introducing  for  a  brief  period,  the  electric  light 
into  this  building.  Is  that  the  electric  light  which  I  see  now .? 
'Tis  but  a  piece  of  dead  cord ;  I  could  burn  it,  and  yet  it  is  neces- 
sary, yes,  that  must  be  allowed.  What  is  wanted  then  is  but  to 
comiect  these  cords  with  a  motive  power,  near  at  hand  or  far  away — 
but  until  the  connection  is  established  these  festoons  I  see  before 
me  are  but  dead,  useless  things,  without  a  spark  of  light  which  I 
can  make  available.  Connect  the  cords,  set  the  engine  going,  let 
it  cause  the  necessary  rotations  to  fly,  and  presently  an  arrange- 
ment may  be  made  by  which  from  these  cords  we  shall  receive  a 
dazzling  glory.  They  are  nothing  in  themselves,  and  yet  without 
them,  the  engine  might  for  a  thousand  ages,  and  we  should  get 
no  light. 

It  is  even  so  with  us  in  our  very  soul  and  heart  and  mind.  We 
are  here,  men  educated,  intelligent,  well-appointed,  and  what  is 
it  that  we  need  but  connectioti  with  the  heavens,  direct  communica- 
tion  with  the  source  of  light  and  fire  }  "  Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our 
hearts  inspire." 

Let  us  see  by  all  these  common  illustrations,  the  meaning  of 

*  This  sermon  was  preached  during  the  introduction  of  the  electric 
light  into  the  City  Temple. 


56  ACTS  II.  21. 


the  grand  spiritual  truth,  "  Without  me — Christ — ye  can  do 
nothing."  Except  the  cord  be  attached  to  the  really  energetic 
centre  it  can  do  nothing.  Except  a  branch  abide  in  the  vine  it 
cannot  bear  fruit.  Such  is  the  lesson  of  all  symbolism  :  we  have 
detached  ourselves  from  God,  we  have  undertaken  our  own  course 
in  life  ;  for  a  time  we  may  go  because  of  the  original  connection 
which  existed  between  God  and  ourselves,  and  which  he  may  even 
now  in  mercy  be  continuing  unto  us,  in  the  hope  of  his  infinite 
love  that  the  filial  relation  may  be  re-established.  Happy  are  we 
if  we  so  interpret  these  outward  symbols  and  suggestions,  as  to  get 
from  them  the  solemn  lesson  that  unless  we  are  vitallv  related  to 
Christ,  we  have  no  life  abiding  in  us. 

When  the  Holy  Spirit  is  communicated  to  the  church,  we  must 
not  imagine  that  we  shall  be  other  than  ourselves,  enlarged, 
ennobled  and  developed.  The  Spirit  will  not  merge  our  individ- 
uality in  a  common  monotony.  Whatever  your  power  is  now,  the 
incoming  of  the  Holy  Ghost  will  niagnif\>  and  illuminate,  so  that 
your  identity  will  not  be  lost,  but  will  be  carried  up  to  its  highest 
expression  and  significance.  And  more  than  that,  not  only  will 
there  be  development  of  that  which  is  already  ascertained  and 
known,  but  there  will  be  a  da'elopment  of  latent  faculties,  slumber- 
ing powers,  the  existence  of  which  has  never  been  suspected  by 
our  dearest  friends.  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ  Jesus  he  is  a  new 
creature,  old  things  have  passed  away,  and  all  things  have  become 
new."  Look  for  surprises  m  the  church  when  the  Holy  Ghost 
falls  upon  it  :  dumb  men  will  speak,  ineloquent  men  will  attract 
and  fascinate  by  the  sublimity  of  their  new  discourse,  timid  men 
will  put  on  the  lion,  and  those  who  had  hidden  themselves  away 
in  the  obscurity  of  conscious  feebleness  will  come  out  and  offer 
themselves  at  the  Lord's  altar  to  help  in  the  Lord's  service. 

Do  not  let  us  have  any  attempts  at  mechanical  cni\\MS\^?,m.  Any 
enthusiasm  that  is  simulated,  must  die  in  the  very  act  of  expressing 
itself.  When  the  Holy  Ghost  falls  upon  an  assembly,  the  assem- 
bly loses  mechanical  self-control,  but  not  spiritual  self-direction. 
It  is  not  carried  away  by  mere  exhilaration,  as  if  by  "  wine  wherein 
is  excess,"  it  knows  the  hour  of  the  day,  it  knows  the  genesis  and 
the  meaning  of  the  process  it  has  carried  up  to  an  enthusiasm 
which  confounds  all  outside  dwellers,  but  which  brings  its  own 
explanation  to  the  heart  which  it  inflames. 


ENLARGED    CONCEPTIONS  OF  THINGS.  57 

So  we  await  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Holy  Spirit,  bap- 
tize us  as  with  fire  !  Show  me  a  true  Christian  who  has  not  sur- 
prised his  friends,  not  only  by  natural  expansion  of  acknowledged 
power,  but  by  many  gifts  and  impulses,  which  had  not  been  sus- 
pected before.  What  patience,  what  long-suffering,  what  noble- 
ness of  charity,  what  instantaneousness  of  large  interpretation  of 
misunderstood  actions,  what  willingness  to  oblige  and  serve  ! 
How  courteous,  how  simple,  how  chivalrous,  how  helpful  alto- 
gether !  The  rough  places  have  been  made  plain,  high  places 
have  been  brought  low,  the  valleys  have  been  lifted  up,  for  the 
Lord  hath  come,  and  in  his  coming  is  reconciliation  and  ennoble- 
ment, and  we  are  at  our  best  only  when  we  are  under  his  impira- 
iion. 

The  resources  of  the  church  will  be  multiplied  in  proportion  as 
the  church  enjoys  the  presence  and  power  of  the  Holy  GhosL 
How  the  old  earth  has  continued  to  keep  pace  with  all  our  civiliza- 
tion and  science — why  should  I  not  amend  that  sentence  and  say. 
How  the  old,  kind  motherly  earth  has  been  keeping  herself  back, 
as  if  she  would  be  wooed  and  entreated  and  besought  to  tell  the 
secret  of  her  heart  and  yield  up  the  riches  which  she  had  hidden. 
The  electric  light  was,  as  to  its  possibilities,  in  Eden,  as  certainly 
as  it  is  in  the  metropolis  of  England  to-day.  The  locomotive  has 
not  created  anything  but  a  new  combination  and  a  new  application 
and  use.  The  locomotive  was  lying  beside  the  four  rivers  that 
flowed  through  Paradise.  Nothing  has  been  added  to  the  earth, 
no  shower  has  fallen  in  the  night-time  to  give  the  earth  new  riches 
and  new  susceptibilities  :  we  have  had  to  dig  and  search  and  wait, 
and  we  have  realized  this  great  Scriptural  injunction  and  exhorta- 
tion, Seek,  and  ye  shall  find  ;  ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you, 
knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you.  Whosoever  asketh 
receiveth,  and  whoso  seeketh  findeth,  and  the  door  is  opened  to 
him  who  knocks  upon  it  as  if  he  meant  to  go  in. 

It  is  even  so  in  the  Bible.  We  have  not  begun  yet  the  great 
preaching.  The  church  knows  nothing  yet  about  the  possibilities 
of  revelation.  No  new  Bible  will  be  written,  but  new  readers  will 
come.  No  man  may  add  one  word  to  what  is  written  in  the 
sealed  book,  but  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  will  open  the  book 
and  read  it  as  it  has  never  been  read  before.  To  a  certain  extent 
we  have  learning  enough,  ability  enough,  industry  enough  :  what 


58  ACTS  II.  21. 


we  want  is  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  When  that  baptism 
comes  we  shall  not  be  asking  for  definitions,  for  definitions  are  the 
exhaustion  of  terms.  Genius  cannot  be  dehned,  Inspiration  can- 
not be  defined,  Love  cannot  be  defined — we  know  them  all,  we 
bow  before  them  all,  but  we  cannot  put  our  homage  into  words, 
or  can'e  in  dead,  cold  stone,  the  beauty  which  we  see  and  idolise 
in  the  soul.  Be  not  asking  frivolous  questions  about  divergent 
and  colliding  creeds,  fret  not  yourself  because  of  those  who  make 
creeds  and  create  differences,  but  understand  that  the  union  of  the 
church,  the  power  of  the  church,  the  life  of  the  church,  is  in  the 
felt  presence  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 

When  he  comes  we  shall  be  one  and  yet  many,  no  individuality 
will  be  lost ;  Peter  will  still  fiame,  John  will  still  burn,  Paul  will 
still  reason,  James  will  still  moralize,  David  will  still  sing.  Our 
identity  will  not  be  lost,  but  under  the  influence  of  a  common 
fire,  warmed  by  a  common  love,  every  man  shall  bring  forth  fruit 
according  to  his  individuality,  and  as  in  the  infinite  diversity  of 
nature  we  discover  one  common  and  grand  beauty,  and  as  one 
star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory,  yet  every  lamp  was  lighted 
at  the  same  fontal  fire — so  we  shall  rejoice  in  one  another's  gifts, 
be  thankful  for  the  diversity  of  tongues  and  offices  and  ser\'ices  in 
the  church,  and  shall  not  make  this  an  occasion  of  separation. 
Whilst  we  look  we  shall  be  astounded  at  the  infinite  possibilities 
of  human  nature,  at  the  infinite  graciousness  of  the  divine  gift,  and 
out  of  these  very  diversities  shall  come  the  inspiration  of  a  new 
and  ever-enlarging  thankfulness. 


VII. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  may  Christ  be  born  in  our  hearts  to-day,  the  hope  of 
glory.  We  bless  thee  for  all  things  that  call  his  name  to  our  memory, 
and  for  all  occasions  that  draw  out  our  love  towards  him  and  his  cross. 
He  is  the  lamb  slain  from  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  :  before  we 
sinned,  he  died.  Herein  is  the  fulness  of  God,  and  herein  the  eternity  of 
his  grace.  Thou  wast  not  surprised  by  sin,  thou  didst  provide  for  ihe 
wound  ere  it  was  inflicted.  The  cross  is  older  than  our  crime  :  where 
sin  abounds  grace  doth  much  more  abound,  for  sin  is  the  creature  of 
time,  but  grace  is  the  offspring  of  eternity.  God  is  love  :  herein  is  love, 
not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  God  loved  us  and  sent  his  Son  to  die  for 
us.  We  love  him  because  he  first  loved  us  :  our  love  is  but  a  poor  an- 
swer to  thine — thy  love  was  first,  or  we  never  could  have  loved  :  thou 
wilt  bring  to  pass  thy  word  ;  thy  promise  shall  stand  in  all  the  reality  of 
accomplishment  ;  the  whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with  thy  glory,  and  all  the 
darkness  of  sin  shall  be  chased  away. 

This  is  thy  decree  :  we  read  it  until  our  hearts  burn  within  us  because 
of  thankfulness  and  love.  The  word  which  the  Lord  hath  spoken  shall 
surely  prevail  :  none  can  stand  against  thy  sovereignty,  thou  Lord  of 
hosts.  Cheer  thy  church  by  visions  of  the  coming  time,  make  her  glad 
with  the  high  and  sure  animation  that  her  Lord  is  hastening  to  her,  and 
that  her  prayer  for  the  quickness  of  his  coming  shall  be  answered  by  his 
sudden  appearance.  O,  Lord,  how  long  ?  The  thing  that  is  promised  is 
true,  but  the  time  is  long,  yet  is  it  long  only  to  us  who  have  so  little  time 
to  live  in  ;  a  thousand  years  in  thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday  when  it  is 
past,  and  as  a  watch  in  the  night  :  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day,  and 
one  day  is  as  a  thousand  years— thou  hast  no  time.  Inhabitant  of  Eternity  ! 

Save  us,  we  beseech  thee,  from  all  the  temptations  which  time  suggests. 
We  rise  and  lie  down  and  count  the  weary  days  :  we  number  the  slow 
and  monotonous  weeks,  and  our  hearts  fail  within  us  because  the  vision 
does  not  brighten  the  sky.  Draw  us  into  the  peace  of  thine  own  eternity  ; 
make  us  quiet  with  the  serenity  of  thine  own  infinitude  ;  then  shall  we 
cease  to  fret  ourselves  because  of  evildoers  and  to  misunderstand  the 
wondrous  ways  of  God. 

We  bless  thee  for  all  the  blessings  of  the  year.  Thou  hast  brought  us 
down  to  its  last  Sabbath.  Through  all  the  year  thou  hast  been  mindful 
of  us,  the  morning  has  been  bright  with  thy  presence,  the  eventide  has 
spoken  to  us  in  its  own  star,  and  the  night  has  been  rich  with  the  voices 
and  music  of  light.     We  desire  to  thank  thee  for  having  taken  care  of  us 


6o  777^  PRAYER. 


and  of  our  houses,  and  for  having  blessed  our  business  occupations,  and 
for  having  brought  us  together  this  day  to  thank  thee  in  common  psalm 
and  prayer  for  all  thy  wondrous  works.  Thou  hast  continued  unto  us 
our  reasoning  faculties,  our  bodily  strength,  our  social  enjoyments,  and 
for  all  these  and  for  all  that  they  involve  and  imply,  we  would  now  bless 
thee  with  unbroken  and  constant  thankfulness.  Thou  hast  redeemed  our 
soul  from  deadly  fear,  thou  hast  broken  the  chain  that  bound  us  to  the 
hard  rock,  thou  hast  caused  us  to  escape  the  wheel  which  threatened  to 
crush  our  life.  Behold  thy  goodness,  how  good,  thy  mercy,  how  merci- 
ful, thy  kindness,  how  loving.  We  would  be  worthy  of  thy  ministry,  but 
in  us  there  is  no  help  ;  we  would  live  in  answering  love,  according  to  all 
the  appeals  made  to  us  by  thy  gentle  and  gracious  providence,  but  the 
things  we  would  we  do  not,  and  the  things  we  would  not,  those  we  do. 
The  Lord  have  pity  upon  us,  and  magnify  his  mercy  according  to  our 
weakness. 

We  present  ourselves  before  thee  in  Christ,  blessing  thee  for  all  thy 
care,  patience,  love  and  mercy,  and  now  we  would  ask  thee  to  preserve 
us  during  the  few  days  that  remain,  that  we  may  use  our  time  in  all 
diligence  and  love  as  men  animated  by  a  high  expectation,  and  made 
steady  by  a  sure  hope.  We  would  grow  in  grace,  we  would  be  no  longer 
tossed  to  and  fro  by  various  winds  of  doctrine,  we  would  stand  in  the 
sanctuary  of  thy  grace,  and  rest  ourselves  in  the  sure  word  of  prophecy, 
and  fill  ourselves  with  the  contented  love  of  those  who  know  that  the 
Lord  reigneth.  We  give  one  another  to  thee  :  every  heart  offers  its  little 
self  to  thy  keeping.  How  many  battles  there  are  to  be  fought,  how  many 
wounds  to  be  endured,  how  many  harvests  to  be  reaped,  how  many  tears 
to  be  shed,  how  many  graves  to  be  dug,  we  ask  not  :  thy  will  be  done. 
Call  us  with  thine  own  voice,  and  may  our  hearts  hear  it  and  our  will 
respond  to  it  with  all  the  eagerness  of  love. 

The  Lord  be  with  those  who  are  far  away  from  us,  of  whom  we  think, 
and  those  who  think  of  us  and  with  whom  to-day  we  hold  heart-fellow- 
ship, whose  excellences  we  recall  and  whose  defects  we  forget.  The 
Lord  make  them  merry  with  a  godly  mirth,  glad  with  a  saintly  joy,  and 
may  we  all  be  moved  by  the  indestructible  expectation  of  meeting  in  the 
city  where  there  is  no  need  of  the  sun,  because  of  the  shining  of  thy  face. 
The  Lord  make  us  glad,  the  Lord  who  loveth  joy  give  gladness  to  the 
hearts  of  his  people,  turn  their  afflictions  into  roots  of  strength  and  hope 
and  promise,  and  sanctify  their  tears  so  that  through  them  they  may  see 
afar. 

God  bless  all  the  little  children,  those  who  are  home  from  school,  those 
whose  hearts  are  overflowing  with  young  delight,  because  of  all  the 
enjoyments  and  opportunities  of  the  season.  The  Lord  make  them  glad 
from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going  down  of  the  same,  and  fill  their 
very  dreams  with  young  delight,  and  carry  them  all  through  the  line  of 
growth  even  unto  old  age,  and  may  the  last  wine  be  better  than  the  first. 
Amen. 


THE   TEXT.  6i 


Acts  ii.  22-36. 

22.  Ye  men  of  Israel,  hear  these  words  ;  Jesus  of  Nazareth  [only  seven 
weeks  had  elapsed  since  he  died  the  death  of  a  slave  !],  a  man  approved 
[publicly  demonstrated]  of  God  among  you  by  miracles  and  wonders  and 
signs,  which  God  did  by  him  in  the  midst  of  you,  as  ye  yourselves  also 
know  : 

23.  Him,  being  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowl- 
edge of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands  [a  Hebrew  formula 
for  "  by  means  of  "]  have  crucified  and  slain  : 

24.  Whom  God  hath  raised  up,  having  loosed  the  pains  of  death  [the 
travail-pangs]  :  because  it  was  not  possible  that  he  should  beholden  of  it. 

25.  For  David  speaketh  concerning  him  [in  reference  to  him],  I  fore- 
saw the  Lord  always  before  my  face,  for  he  is  on  my  right  hand  [an 
image  of  the  warrior  who  extends  his  shield  over  his  comrade  on  his  left 
hand],  that  I  should  not  be  moved  : 

26.  Therefore  did  my  heart  rejoice,  and  my  tongue  was  glad  ;  more- 
over also  my  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope  : 

27.  Because  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell  [Hades,  the  unseen 
world],  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  [give]  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption. 

28.  Thou  hast  made  known  to  me  the  ways  of  life  ;  thou  shalt  make 
me  full  of  joy  with  thy  countenance. 

29.  Men  and  brethren,  let  me  freely  speak  unto  you  of  the  patriarch 
David,  that  he  is  both  dead  and  buried,  and  his  sepulchre  is  with  us  unto 
this  day  [thus  showing  that  he  did  not  rise  again]. 

30.  Therefore  being  a  prophet,  and  knowing  that  God  had  sworn  with 
an  oath  to  him,  that  of  the  fruit  of  his  loins,  according  to  the  flesh,  he 
would  raise  up  Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne  ; 

31.  He  seeing  this  before  spake  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  that  his 
soul  was  not  left  in  hell,  neither  his  flesh  did  see  corruption  [a  pious  error 
therefore  to  embalm  the  body  of  Christ]. 

32.  This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up  [from  the  dead],  whereof  we  all  are 
witnesses. 

33.  Therefore  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted  [into  heaven], 
and  having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath 
shed  [poured]  forth  this,  which  ye  now  see  and  hear. 

34.  For  David  is  not  ascended  into  the  heavens  :  but  he  saith  himself. 
The  Lord  [Jehovah]  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand  [a 
common  Eastern  expression]. 

35.  Until  I  make  thy  foes  thy  footstool  [an  expression  for  complete 
victory]. 

36.  Therefore  let  all  the  house  of  Israel  know  assuredly,  that  God  hath 
made  that  same  Jesus  whom  ye  have  crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ. 


62  ACTS  II  22-36. 


THE  EFFECT  OF  PENTECOST  UPON   PETER. 

THIS  is  a  full  length  portrait  of  Peter  himself.  If  we  see 
clearly  the  effect  upon  Peter,  we  shall  have  a  true  idea  of 
the  effect  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  the  entire 
church.  God  shows  us  things  that  are  too  great  to  be  seen  in  their 
completeness,  in  illustrative  and  easily-comprehended  parts. 
Those  who  carefully  study  Peter' s  speech  in  answer  to  the  mockers, 
will  see  in  the  case  of  one  man,  the  effect  which  would  follow  by 
the  loving  acceptance  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  on  the  part  of 
the  whole  church.  Inspiration  is  followed  by  self-revelation  ;  a 
man  may  thus  reveal  himself  with  perfect  unconsciousness.  Peter 
is  not  an  egotist  in  this  case,  but,  so  to  say,  the  passive  instrument 
through  which  the  Holy  Ghost  delivers  new  and  gracious  messages 
to  the  church.  Fi.x  your  minds  therefore  upon  Peter  in  the  first 
instance.  We  know  what  he  has  been  up  to  this  time,  ardent, 
impulsive,  unbalanced,  enthusiastic,  cowardly.  Since  we  last  saw 
him,  during  the  days  of  the  bodily-present  Christ,  he  has  been  the 
subject  of  Pentecostal  influence.  We  have  therefore  to  look  on 
this  picture  and  on  this ;  and  upon  the  change  discoverable 
between  the  two  pictures  you  may  found  your  estimate  of  the  value 
of  spiritual  inspiration. 

Notice  his  heroic  eloquence.  He  is  not  only  a  speaker,  he  is  a 
burjiing  speaker.  It  is  not  enough  to  speak — you  may  teach  an 
automaton  to  speak,  you  may  so  instruct  a  machine  as  to  utter  a 
mimic  cry.  This  man  is  not  only  speaking  words,  he  is  speaking 
them  with  unction,  \\\ih.Jire,  with  emphasis,  never  heard  in  his  tone 
before.  A  man  does  not  read  simply  because  he  pronounces 
words  that  are  in  the  text  that  he  is  perusing  ;  a  man  does  not  give 
out  a  psalm  simply  because  he  articulates  without  inaccuracy  ever}' 
individual  word  in  the  metre.  There  is  something  in  the  reading 
which  cannot  be  put  into  type,  a  halo,  or  say  an  atmosphere,  or 
say  an  aroma,  or  say  an  illustrative  and  far-reaching  fire  of  the 
soul. 

It  is  even  so  with  this  speech  of  Peter.  You  have  not  the  whole 
speech  in  the  words.  You  must  be  enabled,  by  a  kind  of  semi- 
inspiration  of  your  own,  to  read  between  the  lines,  in  order  to  get 
hold  of  all  the  force  and  weight  of  this  burning  oration.     We  do 


7:^05:  PERSONAL  EFFECT  OF  INSPIRATION.        63 

not  gather  all  from  the  speaker  that  we  gather  when  we  take  down 
the  mere  words  which  he  utters  :  there  are  palpitations  which  can- 
not be  reported,  and  tones  which  have  no  typal  representation. 
It  was  emphatically  so  in  this  great  speech  of  the  inspired  fisher- 
man. It  carries  everything  before  it  like  a  fire  marching  through 
dry  stubble.  Already  therefore  in  the  mere  matter  of  eloquence, 
we  discover  a  wonderful  change  in  the  man  who  denied  his  Lord 
with  an  oath.  He  was  always  an  ardent  man,  but  now  he  burns 
as  he  says  the  elements  themselves  will  one  day  "  burn  with  fervent 
heat."  Who  but  himself  could  have  put  those  two  words 
together .?  They  are  part  of  his  very  self.  Other  men  might  have 
said,  "  The  elements  will  burn  ;"  they  might  even  have  gone  so 
far  as  to  say  "  the  elements  will  burn  with  heat,"  but  it  was  Peter's 
very  self  that  said,  "the  elements  shall  burn  with  y^rr^w/ heat." 
That  fervent  heat,  in  its  own  degree  and  with  its  own  proper  spirit- 
ual limits,  we  find  in  this  great  deliverance. 

It  was  not  only  eloquence,  it  was  reasoning  on  fire.  For  notice 
Peter's  grasp  of  Biblical  truth.  Who  had  ever  known  Peter  before 
as  a  reader — who  was  aware  until  this  moment  that  Peter  ever 
opened  the  sacred  Book  and  perused  it  with  a  student's  curiosity 
and  eagerness  .?  We  had  never  thought  of  Peter  as  an  expositor  ; 
an  errand-runner,  a  zealous,  not  always  well-balanced  friend,  a 
crude  thinker,  an  incoherent  speaker,  under  these  terms  we  may 
have  formed  some  conception  of  the  apostolic  fisherman,  but  cer- 
tainly it  never  entered  into  our  mind  that  he  had  been  a  reader,  a 
student,  an  inquirer  into  the  deep  decrees  and  hidden  things  of 
the  sanctuary — yet  in  a  moment  he  opens  the  prophecy  of  Joel, 
and  reads  it  in  the  language  and  tone  of  his  own  day,  and  then  he 
searches  into  some  of  the  richest  psalms  of  David,  and  quotes  from 
them  enough  to  establish  the  continuity  and  solidity  of  his  great 
argument. 

Not  only  was  he  transformed  into  an  orator,  he  was  transformed 
into  a  profound  expositor  of  the  divine  purpose  in  the  creation  and 
education  of  the  church.  He  speaks  like  a  philosopher.  He 
sees  that  the  ages  are  not  unrelated  days,  broken  and  incohesive 
nights,  but  that  the  ages  are  ONE,  as  the  day  is  one,  from  its 
grey  dawn  to  the  time  of  the  lighting  of  the  evening  star.  This 
always  follows  deep  acquaintance  with  the  mysteries  of  God 
and    high    fellowship  with    the    Spirit   of    the   living    One ;    we 


64  ACTS  11.  i2-2,(i. 


are  delivered  from  the  vexation  and  torment  of  daily  details,  and 
are  set  in  the  great  currents  and  movements  of  the  divine  purpose, 
and  thereby  do  we  acquire  the  balance  which  gives  us  rest  and 
serenity,  which  often  glows  into  courageous  joy.  Think  of  Peter, 
a  fisherman,  uniting  these,  and  calling  upon  prophecy  as  its  own 
witness,  and  pointing  out  how  life  is  a  development,  a  growing 
upward  and  onward,  and  outward,  into  new  and  harmonious 
expressions.  When  the  church  is  inspired,  it  will  be  eloquent  : 
when  the  church  is  inspired  it  will  be  biblically  wise,  it  will  be 
able  to  read  not  the  letter  only,  but  to  decipher  the  spirit,  and  to 
read  the  letter  so  that  it  will  quiver  into  music  under  the  tone 
refined  in  the  sanctuary  and  made  quick  with  the  vitality  of  God. 

Peter  shows  us  how  prophecy  is  fulfilled.  The  fulfilment  of 
prophecy  is  not  something  which  God  has  been  arduously  trying 
to  do  and  has  at  last  barely  accomplished.  The  fulfilment  of 
prophecy  is  not  a  divine  effort ;  God  is  not  a  great  giant  trying  to 
carry  some  infinite  globe  up  an  infinite  hill,  and  at  last  just  suc- 
ceeding in  unloading  the  burden.  The  fulfilment  of  prophecy  is 
a  7iatural -pTOCtss,  and  it  comes  to  express  a  natural  end.  Prophecy 
is  not  to  God  a  mere  hope,  it  is  a  clear  vision  of  what  must  be,  and 
of  what  he  himself  will  bring  to  pass.  You  do  not  prophesy  that 
the  child  will  become  a  man,  you  speak  of  his  manhood  as  future, 
but  quite  certain,  you  say  what  he  will  be,  so  strong,  wise,  chival- 
rous, gentle,  prudent,  brave — and  in  so  saying  you  are  not  express- 
ing the  result  of  an  arduous  effort  on  your  part  which  you  hope  to 
bring  to  a  successful  issue,  but  you  are  taking  your  stand  by  the 
side  of  God  when  he  created  the  typal  Adam,  and  you  say  this  is 
God's  purpose  and  Adam  shall  come  to  this  estate. 

We  want  the  right  way  of  reading  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy. 
It  is  prophesied  that  the  whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  knowl 
edge  of  the  Lord.  It  is  not  a  mere  hope,  it  is  the  sure  outcome  of 
the  divine  way  of  doing  things.  Christ  must,  by  a  necessity  which 
cannot  be  explained,  even  by  the  necessity  of  righteousness  and 
light  and  truth,  reign  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet. 
So  we  are  not  trusting  to  a  vain  promise  ;  prophecy  is  not  a  daring 
expression  of  a  fanatical  hope,  it  is  God's  prevision  of  the  future, 
and  God's  note  of  hand  that  he  will  yet  give  his  Son  the  heathen 
for  an  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  a  pos- 
session,   signed*  in  every  ink  in  the  universe,   signed  in  heaven 


PETER'S  INSPIRATION.  65 

before  the  earth  was  formed,  signed  on  Calvary  with  the  blood-ink 
of  the  Cross,  We  must  rest  in  this  assurance  ;  the  word  of  the 
Lord  will  prevail,  not  by  means  of  education,  eloquence,  or 
mechanical  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  church,  but  the  world  will  be 
converted  unto  Christ  because  God  has  said  it  will  be  so,  and 
when  his  word  has  gone  forth  it  cannot  return  to  him  void. 

Not  only  was  Peter  eloquent  and  instructive — he  startled  the 
church  by  becoming  its  most  solid  and  convincing  reasoner.  What 
a  wonderful  argument  this  is,  to  take  no  higher  view  of  it  in  the 
mean  time.  ' '  Ye  men  of  Israel, ' '  said  Peter,  ' '  hear  these  words, 
and  mark  how  cunning  the  words  are  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term. 
Observe  where  and  how  Peter  begins  his  address,  "  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, a  Man,"  there  is  no  appeal  to  theological  bias  or  prejudice. 
Had  he  begun  by  saying  to  such  people,  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the 
incarnate  God,"  he  would  have  lost  his  audience  in  his  first  sen- 
tence. He  was  made  into  a  master  of  assemblies,  he  began  where 
his  hearers  could  begin,  and  he  who  begins  otherwise  than  at  the 
point  of  sympathy,  how  eloquent  soever,  will  lose  the  reins  ere  he 
has  time  to  put  one  sentence  to  another.  Already  therefore  this 
inspiration  is  beginning  to  tell  in  the  mental  force  and  astuteness 
of  this  unlettered  fisherman.  He  gives  up  the  Deity  of  Christ, 
does  he  .?  He  plainly  calls  Jesus  Christ  "  a  man  approved  of  God 
among  you  by  miracles  and  wonders  and  signs  which  God  did 
by  him  in  the  midst  of  you,  as  ye  yourselves  also  know."  But 
does  he  conclude  so  }  He  begins  by  describing  Christ  as  a  !Man, 
but  the  glittering  point  of  his  glorious  climax  is  this — "  Therefore 
let  all  the  house  of  Israel  know  assuredly  that  God  hath  made  that 
same  Jesus  whom  ye  have  crucified  both  Lord  and  Christ." 

Note  the  argumentative  skill.  Had  Peter  broken  off  his  speech 
in  the  first  sentence,  the  coldest  Socinian  that  ever  wrote  about 
Christ  could  have  endorsed  his  utterance,  but  Peter  makes  way 
through  Scriptural  quotations  and  through  inspired  exposition, 
until  he  concludes  with  this  burning  breath,  "  God  hath  made 
that  same  Jesus  whom  ye  have  crucified  both  LORD  and 
CHRIST." 

Notice,  too,  how  Peter  stands  without  equivocation  upon  the 
historical  fact  of  the  resurrectioii.  He  was  not  talking  to  people 
who  lived  a  century  after  the  reported  rising  again  of  Christ  :  he 
was  talking  to  men  who  knew  perfectly  well  what  had  happened. 


66  ACTS  IT.  22-36. 


Does  he  put  any  gloss  upon  the  matter — does  he  seek  to  make  it 
a  parable,  a  typal  instance,  a  quasi  resurrection  ?  He  talks  with 
the  absolute  frankness  of  a  man  who  is  relating_/at-/j-,  which  every 
child  in  the  assembly  knew  to  be  such,  and  he  was  in  the  presence 
of  men  who  could  instantly  have  risen  and  contradicted  the  state- 
ments which  he  made,  had  they  been  in  a  position  to  do  so. 

Does  Peter  separate  Christ  from  the  wonderful  manifestation  of 
the  Spirit  which  had  been  granted  .?  On  the  contrary,  he  connects 
the  Pentecost  with  the  risen  and  glorified  Son  of  God.  This 
enables  him  to  use  another  "  therefore."  I  refer  to  these  "  ihere- 
fores'  in  this  connection  because  we  ary  trying  to  show  how 
inspiredly  argumentative  the  apostle  had  become.  "  Therefore 
being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having  received  of 
the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath  shed  forth  this, 
which  ye  now  see  and  hear."  This  is  his  last  miracle,  this  is  the 
spiritualization  of  all  the  miracles,  this  is  the  marvel  to  which  all 
signs  and  wonders  were  leading  up,  this  is  the  capital  without 
which  the  column  would  have  been  unfinished,  this  the  revelation 
of  the  purpose  which  moved  his  heart  w-hen  he  came  to  save  the 
world  and  found  his  church. 

It  was  also  a  great  evangelical  speech  which  Peter  made.  He 
gave  the  house  of  Israel  z.new  chance.  "Therefore  let  all  the 
house  of  Israel  know  assuredly, '' — it  is  as  if  Peter  would  say, 
"  Now  you  have  the  opportunity  of  escaping  all  the  past  and 
beginning  a  new  and  glorious  future."  That  is  the  continual 
speech  of  Christianity.  Every  morning  Christianity  says,  "  You 
can  make  to-day  better  than  yesterday.  Every  morning  is  a  new 
chance,  every  new  year  is  a  new  opportunity,  every  turn  in  the 
affairs  of  men  is  a  new  gate  opened  upon  some  higher  road." 
Would  that  we  had  understanding  of  these  things  and  could  turn 
our  chances  to  high  spiritual  use  ! 

All  these  features  will  characterise  a  revived  church.  We  shall 
have  heroic  eloquence,  profound  insight  into  Scripture,  strong 
grasp  of  the  meaning  and  purpose  of  prophecy,  and  we  shall  our- 
.selves  become  unanswerably  argumentative  in  all  Christian  doctrine 
and  truth  when  the  Ploly  Ghost  is  poured  out  upon  us. 

We  have  in  Peter  a  standard  whereby  to  measure  ourselves. 
When  the  Holy  Ghost  falls  upon  us  we  shall  go  to  the  Bible  with 
a  new  reading  power,  and  we  shall  see  wonders  where  before  we 


EVERYTHING  IS  IN  THE  BIBLE.  67 

saw  nothing  because  of  our  spiritual  blindness.  There  are  por- 
tions of  the  Bible  with  which  we  are  nominally  familiar,  but  what 
do  we  know  of  its  inner  meanings,  of  the  minor  prophets,  the 
out-of-the-way  histories,  the  deep  things  of  God  ?  Under  the 
enlightenment  of  the  Spirit  we  shall  see  that  everything  grand  in 
thought,  thrilling  in  poetry,  tragic  in  experience,  noble  in  heroism, 
is  in  the  Bible.  This  is  the  Book  out  of  which  all  other  books  are 
made.  All  science  is  here,  all  history,  all  fiction,  all  philosophy, 
all  poetry,  even  the  best  titles  of  all  books  are  in  the  Bible.  There 
is  nothing  in  any  literature  whose  root  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
inspired  volume.  This  is  the  Book  out  of  which  all  other  books 
are  made,  as  the  earth  is  the  quarry  out  of  which  all  its  palaces 
have  been  dug,  and  as  there  are  grander  palaces  in  the  rocks  and 
woods  than  have  yet  been  built,  so  there  are  more  glorious  visions 
in  the  Bible  than  we  have  yet  beheld. 

How  slowly  we  realise  that  everything  that  is  upon  the  earth 
actually  came  out  of  the  earth  itself.  Is  the  marble  palace  superb  } 
It  was  dug  out  of  the  earth.  Is  the  city  vast  and  noble,  the  glitter- 
ing Jerusalem,  imperial  Rome,  immeasurable  Babylon  and 
Nineveh  .?  They  were  all  dug  out  of  the  heart  of  mother  earth. 
Is  the  navy  proud  and  strong .?  It  was  all  cut  out  of  the  forests 
which  fed  themselves  at  the  breast  of  mother  earth.  There  is 
nothing  upon  the  earth  which  did  not  come  out  of  the  earth  itself. 
It  is  even  so  with  this  Bible.  You  have  a  thousand  libraries,  but 
they  all  came  out  of  God's  Book,  yes,  the  libraries,  that  were 
founded,  if  any  such  there  were  ages  before  the  Book  was  written, 
came  out  of  the  Book.  God  is  older  than  any  book  that  can  be 
written  :  inspiration  is  the  most  ancient  fact  in  all  history,  yea,  it 
antedates  all  history  and  makes  all  history  possible.  There  are 
those  who  want  to  run  away  from  the  Bible  and  set  up  other  books, 
as  though  they  were  independent  and  original.  I  will  believe  in 
their  independence  and  originality  as  soon  as  you  show  me  one 
block  of  polished  marble  that  did  not  come  out  of  the  earth. 
Prove  to  me  that  you  stole  it  from  some  of  the  upper  stars,  then  I 
will  believe  in  the  independence  and  originality  of  the  marble 
block.  My  own  deep  conviction  is  that  the  time  will  come  when 
every  other  book  will  fling  itself,  so  to  say,  in  loyal  homage  at  the 
foot  of  God's  book  and  say,  "  Whatever  is  good  in  me,  I  owe  to 
you."     The  earth  grows  no  polished  marble  :  the  old  earth  will 


ACTS  II.  22-36. 


polish  no  blocks  for  you  ;  she  will,  so  lo  say,  grmv  them  for  you, 
hold  them  in  custody  until  you  come  for  them  with  great  iron  keys 
and  open  the  recesses  within  which  she  preserves  them.  Polishing 
you  will  have  to  do,  squaring  and  measuring,  all  thisj'^w  will  have 
to  do,  but  the  solid  block  itself  came  out  of  the  heart  of  the  earth. 
So  with  all  books  that  are  good  and  true  and  wise  and  useful  ; 
they  have  their  vital  relation  to  God's  book,  in  whatever  language 
written,  in  whatever  country  published,  though  in  those  languages 
and  in  those  countries  the  book  we  call  God's  has  not  yet  been 
known. 

Why  do  men  limit  inspiration — why  do  men  want  to  yet  trace 
any  good  thing  to  any  source  but  God  P  If  there  is  anything 
good  in  Mohammedanism,  I  claim  it  for  Christ  :  he  was  before  all 
things.  If  there  is  anything  good  in  Brahminism,  I  claim  it  for 
Christ.  If  there  is  anything  good  in  the  heart  of  the  wildest  savage 
that  this  day  tears  his  fellow-creatures  in  lands  of  barbarism,  I 
claim  it  for  Christ.  My  Christ  is  more  than  a  merely  historical 
figure,  born  on  a  certain  day,  and  on  a  certain  day  crucified  :  the 
Christ  in  whom  I  believe  is  always  born,  always  crucified — the 
same  yesterday,  to-day  and  for  ever  ;  not  a  name  upon  a  calendar, 
but  a  Name  that  hides  itself  under  the  foundations  of  everything 
solid,  above  everything  brilliant,  and  round  everything  wide,  and 
that  crowns  with  everlasting  glory  everything  philanthropic  and 
noble. 

As  the  earth  owes  nothing  to  any  other  world  but  her  light,  so 
God  has  made  men  that  we  carry  everything  in  us  but  our  own 
inspiration.  He  does  not  make  us  new  men  in  the  sense  of  losing 
our  old  identity,  he  makes  us  new  by  his  inspiration  in  the  sense 
of  lifting  us  up  to  the  full  expression  of  his  own  holy  purpose  in 
our  original  creation.  We  cannot  inspire  ourselves.  The  Holy 
Ghost  is  the  gift  of  God.  We  are  made  in  the  divine  image  and 
likeness,  we  have  wondrous  faculties  as  the  earth  has  wondrous 
treasures^all  these  are  the  gift  of  God,  all  these  we  hold  in 
stewardship  for  God.  But  these  will  be  in  us  so  many  weights  and 
burdens,  curses  rather  than  blessings,  unless  there  fall  upon  us  the 
mighty  Pentecostal  Holy  Spirit.  Then  shall  we  be  our  true  selves, 
eloquent,  wise,  argumentative,  strong,  evangelical,  sympathetic, 
new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus,  through  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  has 
been  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts. 


VIII. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  stand  in  thy  wisdom  and  are  therefore  not  afraid. 
In  our  hearts  is  the  Spirit  of  thy  grace,  and  great  comfort  have  they  that 
yield  themselves  to  its  sway.  We  come  with  open  hearts,  with  mouths 
filled  with  prayer  and  minds  aflame  with  sacred  desire.  We  ask  thee  to 
receive  our  psalm  of  adoration,  to  listen  to  our  hymn  of  praise,  and  to 
answer  the  request  which  is  as  a  burden  upon  our  souls. 

How  comfortable  are  thy  words,  how  sweet  is  every  promise  of  thine, 
bright  with  the  dew  which  makes  heaven  itself  glad.  May  we  now  enter 
into  the  meaning  of  thy  word  ;  may  it  be  sweeter  to  our  taste  than 
honey,  yea,  than  the  honeycomb.  Having  tasted  other  words,  may  we 
desire  thine  the  more.  This  is  the  living  word,  no  other  word  can  live. 
Help  us,  therefore,  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in  thy  house,  they  will  still  be  praising 
thee."  One  song  shall  follow  another;  one  sacrifice  shall  prepare  the 
way  for  a  nobler  oblation  still,  and  as  the  days  come  and  go,  we  shall  be 
brought  nearer  heaven,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  and  Priest. 
For  him  how  can  we  bless  thee  in  words  sufficiently  tender  ;  he  is  the 
heart  of  God  ;  he  is  the  only-begotten  ;  the  beginning  and  the  end.  He 
is  all  in  all,  the  beginning  of  all  beauty  and  music,  all  truth  and  wisdom, 
all  grace  and  hope.  In  him  our  souls  live  ;  through  him  we  pass  from 
the  bonds  of  death  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  immortality.  Reveal  his 
truth  to  us,  we  humbly  pray  thee  ;  more  and  more  as  we  look  up  do  thou 
show  us  all  thy  stars  ;  as  we  wait  patiently  for  God  may  our  patience  be 
rewarded  with  great  replies  ;  may  our  loving  waiting  hearts  be  enriched 
with  infinite  grace.  Take  our  life,  we  humbly  pray  thee,  into  thine  own 
keeping.  Preserve  us  from  all  evil,  establish  thy  kingdom  in  the  very 
centre  of  our  life.  When  we  lose  thee  may  we  cry  like  a  child  that  is 
lost.  When  thou  art  standing  afar  off,  may  we  cease  to  eat  and  drink  be- 
cause of  weariness  of  heart.  We  long  for  thee.  We  say,  without  words, 
in  many  a  trouble,  yea,  in  helpless  sighing,  O  Lord,  how  long  ?  Thou 
art  always  coming,  and  thou  art  always  coming  quickly,  yet  because  of 
our  littleness  and  impatience  we  do  not  measure  thy  coming  by  the  right 
standard.  Forgive  our  very  prayers  ;  cleanse  our  very  holiness  from  the 
corruption  which  degrades  it.  May  our  very  waiting  upon  thee  be  not 
reckoned  as  an  aggravation  of  our  sin.  Look  in  upon  houses  that  are 
dull  to-day,  because  familiar  voices  have  ceased  and  familiar  presences 
have  passed  away.     Thou  knowest  the  meaning  of  all  this,  though  we 


•JO  ACTS  II.  2,7-/^7. 


cannot  explain  it.  Thou  dost  tear  the  branch  frona  the  tree  ;  thou  dost 
suddenly,  as  by  a  great  storm,  unroof  the  house  of  plenty  and  comfort 
and  peace,  and  lay  it  open  to  the  great  winds  and  rains  and  tempests  ; 
thou  dost  take  away  the  delight  of  our  eyes,  and  whilst  we  are  looking 
upon  the  flowers  thou  dost  cut  ihem  down,  that  where  they  grow  our 
hearts  may  lie.  This  is  thy  way  ;  how  little  do  we  see— the  thunder  of 
thy  power  who  can  understand  ?  Thou  dost  crush  us  like  reeds  that  are 
already  bruised  ;  yea,  thou  dost  lay  upon  us  burdens  which  exhaust  our 
strength  ;  thou  dost  send  night  upon  night  of  darkness  upon  our  path  of 
life,  until  our  eyes  are  weary  with  the  weight.  Yet  thou  art  not  far 
away  ;  thou  dost  suddenly  lift  the  gloom  and  shine  upon  us,  and  in  the 
smile  of  thy  love  we  take  heart  again.  We  will  not  mourn,  nor  com- 
plain, for  in  mourning  there  is  no  end,  and  in  complaining  there  is  no 
satisfaction.  Thy  will  be  done  ;  thy  will  is  good  ;  in  it  there  is  no  bitter- 
ness, in  it  there  is  no  death.  True  and  perfect  and  unchangeable  love  is 
thine,  therefore  in  Christ's  name  and  through  Christ's  strength  and  by 
the  infinite  sufficiency  of  Christ's  grace  would  we  now  say,  "  Thy  will  be 
done."     Amen. 

Acts  ii.  37-47. 

37.  Now  when  they  heard  this,  they  were  pricked  in  their  heart  [stung 
with  remorse.  The  only  instance  of  the  word  "  pricked  "  in  the  New 
Testament]  and  said  unto  Peter  and  to  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  Men  and 
brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ? 

38.  Then  Peter  said  unto  them.  Repent  [the  Hebrews  express  sin  and 
punishment  by  the  same  word,  and  also  repentance  and  comfort\  and  be 
baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

39.  For  the  promise  is  unto  you,  and  to  your  children,  and  to  all  that 
are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call. 

40.  And  with  many  other  words  did  he  testify  and  exhort,  saying.  Save 
yourselves  from  this  untoward  [crooked]  generation, 

41.  Then  they  that  gladly  received  his  word  were  baptized  :  and  the 
same  day  they  were  added  unto  them  about  three  thousand  souls. 

42.  And  they  continued  steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine  and  fellow- 
ship [Phil.  i.  5]  ;  and  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayer. 

43.  And  fear  came  upon  every  soul  :  and  many  wonders  and  signs 
were  done  by  the  apostles. 

44.  And  all  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all  things  common. 

45.  And  sold  [the  verbs  throughout  this  description  are  in  the  imper- 
fect tense,  as  expressing  the  constant  recurrence  of  the  act]  their  posses- 
sions and  goods,  and  parted  them  to  all  men,  as  every  man  had  need. 

46.  And  they,  continuing  daily  with  one  accord  in  the  temple,  and 
breaking  bread  from  house  to  house  \at  home\  did  eat  their  meat  with 
gladness  and  singleness  [the  only  instance  of  the  word  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment] of  heart.   • 


THE  DOUBLE  ACTION  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  71 


47.  Praising  God,  and  having  favour  with  all  the  people.  And  the 
Lord  added  [the  tense  implies  a  continually  recurring  act]  to  the  church 
daily  such  as  should  be  saved  [them  that  were  made  safe]. 


THE   EFFECTS  OF  GOSPEL  PREACHING. 

PETER  having  explained  the  events  which  happened  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  an  immediate  effect  was  produced  upon  the 
people  who  heard  him  ;  that  effect  is  stated  in  these  very  graphic 
words,  "  They  were  pricked  in  their  hearts."  So  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  poured  out  upon  them  as  he  had  been  poured  out  upon  the 
assembly  of  the  Church.  We  see  here,  therefore,  the  double  action 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  is  poured  out  upon  the  Church  to  sanctify 
and  to  confirm  in  the  faith  ;  and  he  is  poured  out  upon  those  who 
are  outside  the  Church  that  he  may  alarm  and  quicken  and  direct 
to  right  conclusions. 

We  must  remember  that  this  was  \h&  first  Christian  Sermon  that 
had  been  preached.  Jesus  Christ  was  no  longer  present  in  the 
body.  Christian  revelation,  so  far  as  the  bodily  presence  of  Christ 
was  concerned,  had  been  completed,  and  his  last  word  upon  earth 
had  been  spoken.  Now  we  are  curious  to  know  how  the  truth 
will  make  its  way  upon  its  aivn  merits,  apart  from  that  singular 
magnetic  influence  which  attached  to  the  bodily  presence  and  the 
audible  voice  of  the  divine  Master. 

Will  the  truth  make  its  way  by  sheer  force  of  its  celestial  beauty 
and  grace,  and  comfort,  or  will  it  perish  under  other  voices  than 
Christ' s  own  .?  So  long  as  Christ  was  present,  he  could  work 
miracles.  His  soul  could  look  out  of  his  eyes  upon  the  multi- 
tude as  the  soul  of  no  other  man  could  look.  Perhaps  therefore 
any  progress  which  the  kingdom  of  heaven  had  made  amongst 
men  was  owing  entirely  to  the  bodily  presence  and  magnetic  influ- 
ence of  the  visible  Christ.  So  we  wait,  we  hear  the  discourse,  and 
when  it  is  concluded  we  read,^ — that  when  the  people  heard  this 
they  were  pricked  in  their  hearts. 

Observe  the  peculiarity  of  that  effect.     Not,  they  were  awed  by 
the  eloquence  ;  not,  they  were  excited  in  their  imagination  ;  not, 
they  were  gratified  in  their  taste  ;  the  result  was  infinitely  deeper_ 
and  grander.      "  They  were  pierced  in  their  hearts."     An  arrow 


72  ACTS  II.  y]-xi. 


had  fastened  itself  in  the  very  centre  of  their  Hfe.  In  their  con- 
science was  inserted  the  sting  of  intolerable  self-accusation.  This 
was  the  grand  miracle.  Truly  we  may  say  this  was  the  beginning 
of  miracles  of  the  higher,  because  the  spiritual  kind.  Great  effects 
are  produced  by  great  causes.  A  reflection  of  this  kind  would, 
however,  have  a  very  remote  interest  for  us  were  it  confined  to  an 
ancient  incident.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Apostle  Peter  preached 
the  only  sermon  that  any  Christian  minister  is  ever  at  liberty  to 
preach.  This  discourse  of  Peter's  is  not  nineteen  centuries  old. 
It  is  the  only  discourse  that  any  minister  of  Christ  dare  utter,  if  he 
be  faithful  to  his  stewardship.  This  is  the  model  sermon.  This 
the  evangelical  doctrine.  No  change  must  be  made  here  or  a  cor- 
responding change  will  be  made  in  the  effect  which  is  produced. 
Men  may  be  more  eloquent,  men  may  be  more  literary,  men  may 
be  more  technical  and  philosophical,  they  may  use  longer  words 
and  more  abstruse  arguments,  but  the  effect  will  be  like  other  talk, 
it  will  be  pointless,  and  there  will  be  no  answer  in  the  great  human 
heart, — no  conscience  will  accuse,  no  eyes  will  be  blinded  with 
tears,  from  no  multitude  of  men  will  there  be  extorted  the  cry, 
"  What  shall  we  do  V 

Let  us  look  at  this  sermon  and  see  how  it  is  made  up.  It  is 
full  of  Scriptural  allusions,  and  no  sermon  is  worth  listening  to  that 
is  not  full  of  Bible.  The  reason  why  our  preaching  is  so  power- 
less and  pointless  is  that  we  do  not  impregnate  it  with  the  inspired 
word  itself.  Peter  did  not  make  the  sermon.  He  quoted  David 
and  Joel,  the  Psalms  and  the  prophets,  and  set  these  quotations 
in  their  right  relations  to  what  had  just  happened  in  Jerusalem, 
and  whilst  he  was  talking  history  he  made  history.  Faithful  to 
God's  word,  God's  Spirit  was  faithful  to  him,  and  herein  was  that 
grand  word  eternally  realised  in  all  its  beneficent  tenderness — 
"  My  word  shall  not  return  unto  me  void."  Peter  s  word  would 
have  returned  void,  but  God's  word  is  as  a  sower  going  forth  to 
sow,  and  in  the  eventide  of  his  labour  bringing  back  his  sheaves 
with  joy. 

This  discourse  of  Peter's  Avas  :C\?,o/ull 0/  Christ.  But  for  Christ 
it  never  could  have  been  delivered.  From  end  to  end  it  palpitates 
with  the  Deity  and  glory  of  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  also  full  of 
holy  unction.  It  was  not  delivered  as  a  schoolboy  might  deliver  a 
message.     The 'great  strong  rough  frame  of  the  fisherman-preacher 


THE  PREACHER  MUST  BE  INSPIRED.  -ji 

trembled,  yea  quivered  and  vibrated  under  the  feeling  of  the  sacred 
message  which  the  tongue  was  delivering.  The  sermon  is  also 
full  of  patriotic  and  spiritual  tenderness,  and  all  the  while  without 
art  or  trick  or  mechanical  skill,  it  led  up  to  a  vehement  and 
solemn  demand.  When  that  demand  was  thundered  upon  the 
people  they  were  "  pricked  in  their  heart,"  and  they  said,  "  What 
shall  we  do?"  They  did  not  applaud  the //^aw,  they  were  con- 
cerned about  themselves;  they  were  noi pleased,  they  w^xe. pierced ; 
and  they  were  wot  gratified,  they  were  convicted  ;  they  sought  for  no 
excuse  ;  they  asked  for  no  great  pleader  to  state  their  case  in 
reply,  they  said  with  tears.  What  must  we  do  ? 

But  even  this  great  sermon  of  Peter's  does  not  explain  the  full 
result.  The  preacher  must  have  had  something  to  do  with  the 
effect.  He  had  just  received  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  cloven 
tongue  like  as  of  fire  still  sat  and  burned  upon  him,  and  his  whole 
soul  thrilled  with  newly-given  inspiration.  An  inspired  doctrine 
demands  an  inspired  nwiistry.  The  Book  is  inspired,  but  when 
uninspired  readers  read  it  they  kill  the  very  fire  of  heaven  when  it 
touches  their  reluctant  tongues.  What  if  w^e  have  an  inspired 
■Bible  but  an  uninspired  Church  P  It  is  there  that  the  holy  influ- 
ence is  lost.  Inspiration  inspires.  It  is  simply  useless  for  us  to 
say  that  the  Bible  is  inspired,  if  we  who  profess  to  believe  it,  do 
not  share  its  inspiration.  When  the  Holy  Ghost  Is  both  in  the 
doctrine  and  in  the  people  who  profess  it,  the  mountains  of  difficulty 
shall  be  beaten  with  a  new  threshing  instrument  having  teeth,  and 
will  fly  away  like  dust  upon  the  mocking  wind. 

Are  we  inspired }  Do  we  read  the  word  with  the  soul,  or 
merely  pronounce  it  with  the  lips .?  If  with  the  lips  only,  what 
wonder  if  the  people  listen  to  the  Bible  with  a  very  languid 
curiosity  and  are  not  unwilling  that  the  broken  and  soul-less  read- 
ing should  cease .? 

Nor  have  we  read  the  full  account  yet  of  the  production  of  this 
mighty  effect.  The  people  themselves  were  in  an  anxious  state  of 
mind  :  they  were  prepared  for  vital  statement ;  anything  that  was 
beautiful  in  nature  or  in  music  would  not  have  satisfied  them. 
They  would  have  resented  any  discourse  that  bristled  with  merely 
clever  allusions  or  curious  conceits  of  expression.  They  were  a 
prepared  people.     The  fire  fell  upon  prepared  material,  therefore 


74  ACTS  II.  37-47. 


the  word  of  the  Lord  had  free  course  and  was  glorified.  How 
can  we  preach  to  a  people  unprepared  to  hear  ?  The  work  is  too 
great  for  any  man.  A  prepared  pulpit  should  be  balanced  by  a 
prepared  peui.  "Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness  :  for  they  shall  be  filled."  "  Ho,  every  one  that 
thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters."  To  the  unthirsty  man  the  Bible 
spring  is  without  attraction  as  it  rises  and  falls  and  plashes, 
unheard  and  unheeded.  But  to  the  thirsty  traveller,  sun-smitten 
and  weary,  how  sweet,  how  tender,  and  delightful  is  the  music  of 
running  brooks  and  streams  ! 

A  very  solemn  reflection  occurs  here.  I  feel  no  difficulty  in 
laying  down  the  doctrine  that  where  the  heart  is  unaffected,  Chris- 
tian service  is  more  mischievous  than  beneficial.  Let  us  understand 
and  apply  that  doctrine  so  far  as  we  may  be  able.  "With  the 
heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness."  If  in  our  service,  we 
touch  everything  but  the  heart,  the  service  has  done  us  more  harm 
than  good.  What  if  our  notions  be  increased,  if  our  motives  be  left 
unbaptized  with  purifying  fire .?  What  if  we  have  received  a  thou- 
sand new  ideas  into  the  intellect,  if  no  angel  has  been  received  into 
the  home  of  the  heart .?  And  what  if  we  have  been  flattered  and 
cajoled  and  "  daubed  with  untempered  mortar,"  if  the  word  has 
not  reached  the  very  seat  of  the  disease  ? 

Pray  for  a  ministry  that  shall  affect  the  heart.  We  must  have 
a  heart-searching  ministry.  He  who  seeks  after  a  comforting 
ministry  only,  and  a  restful  one  that  shall  give  him  no  disturbance, 
actually  treats  himself  maliciously,  and  wounds  his  own  life.  Let 
us  pray  for  a  ministry  that  shall  tell  the  truth,  the  whole  truth, 
and  nothing  but  the  truth,  and  leave  the  truth  in  the  order  of 
divine  providence  to  make  its  own  way  in  the  intelligence,  the 
affections,  and  the  conscience  of  the  world. 

This  great  gospel  revelation  is  an  appeal  to  the  heart  ;  if  your 
fancy  has  been  titillated,  or  even  your  graver  judgment  satisfied, 
if  your  heart  be  left  unpricked,  untroubled,  and  untorn,  the  word 
has  been  in  vain.  Lay  bare  your  hearts,  say,  in  God's  strength, 
"  Let  me  hear  the  exact  truth,  yea,  if  it  tear  me  to  pieces  and 
inflict  upon  me  the  severest  cruelties,  such  piercing  shall  lead  to  a 
great  joy."  The  effect  was  grand  in  every  aspect.  Three  thou- 
sand souls  were  added  in  the  city  that  day,  unto  them  that  were 
being  saved.     Arid  this  will  be  the  effect  of  Christian  teaching 


HEALTHY  EXCITEMENT.  75 

everywhere  under  the  right  conditions.  People  will  be  added  to 
the  Lord  :  the  Lord's  list  will  be  enlarged  every  day,  and  there 
will  be  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God,  over  sinners  that 
repent.  Again  and  again  we  read  that  the  people  who  heard  the 
Apostolic  preaching,  "cried  out."  We  have  lost  that  cry  .•  we 
have  succumbed  to  the  cold  and  benumbing  spirit  of  decorum. 

I  read  of  men  being  carried  away,  forced  into  exclamation,  of 
men,  women  and  children  coming  together  in  common  sorrow, 
and  singing  together  in  common  joy  ;  but  to-day  the  Church  may 
possibly  have  lost  much  in  losing  a  healthy  excitement.  Chris- 
tianity is  not  a  picture  to  be  gazed  upon  and  admired  as  an 
instance  of  ancient  skill.  It  is  theyfri?  of  the  Lord.  It  is  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  a  cry  that  can  awaken  a  cry.  And 
whilst  it  is  perfectly  true  that  there  may  be  an  irrational  excitement 
which  ought  to  be  subdued  and  controlled,  it  is  also  true  that 
there  is  a  spiritual  enthusiasm,  a  noble  feeling,  an  absolute  con- 
secration withotit  which  the  Church  may  be  but  a  painted 
sepulchre. 

This  gracious  effect  having  taken  place,  we  find  that  the  people 
continued  steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine,  and  in  fellowship, 
in  breaking  of  bread  and  in  prayers.  That  effect  is  just  as  remark- 
able as  the  other.  The  flock  kept  well  together  for  fear  of  the 
wolf.  Were  we  ourselves  in  heathen  lands  as  Christians  we  should 
realize  the  joy  of  keeping  closely  logether.  We  should  want  very 
often  to  see  one  another  and  to  hear  the  voice  of  mutual  instruc- 
tion and  encouragement.  But  living  in  a  Christian  land  where 
Christianity  has  become  a  luxury,  or  in  some  instances  even  an 
annoyance,  what  wonder  that  we  do  not  realize  the  primitive 
enthusiasm,  and  enter  with  delight  into  the  original  fellowship  and 
union  of  the  Church  .?  The  people  continued  in  the  right  teach- 
ing.  Until  our  teaching  be  right  our  life  must  be  wrong.  We 
must  ask  for  the  pure  bread,  the  pure  water,  the  undefiled  Bible, 
and  live  on  that  ;  out  of  such  nutritious  food  there  will  come 
proper  results  such  as  fellowship,  sacramental  communion,  and 
common  prayer.  Therein  perhaps  some  mistake  may  have  been 
made.  A  man  says,  "I  can  pray  by  myself,"  that  is  perfectly 
true,  but  you  should  realize  that  you  are  something  more  than 
yourself ;  you  are  part  of  a  sum  total.     A  man  is  not  at  liberty  in 


76  ACTS  II.  37-47. 


the  Christian  sense  of  manhood  to  ddach  himself  from  his  race, 
from'  the  common  stock  to  which  he  belongs,  and  to  live  as  if  he 
had  no  relation  to  the  great  breadth  of  humanity. 

Herein  is  the  advantage  of  common  prayer  and  common  praise. 
' '  Forsake  not  the  assembling  of  yourselves  together. ' '  There  is 
inspiration  in  sympathy,  there  is  encouragement  in  fellowship. 
It  does  the  soul  good  to  see  the  hosts  gathered  together  under  the 
royal  banner  stained  with  blood  ;  to  see  the  great  army  marching 
shoulder  to  shoulder  under  the  blast  of  the  great  trumpet.  Con- 
tinue steadfastly  to  realize  your  relations  to  your  fellow-Christians 
and  to  the  whole  Church.  "  No  man  liveth  unto  himself  "  who 
lives  aright.  We  belong  to  one  another  ;  the  Lord's  family  is  not 
broken  up  into  units  only,  it  is  constituted  and  consolidated  into  a 
sacred  and  happy  household. 

Other  effects  followed  ;  they  had  all  things  common,  "  they 
sold  their  possessions  and  goods  and  parted  them  to  all  men  as 
every  man  had  need."  This  is  the  sternly  logicaUov^-covcvo.  of  true 
inspiration.  But  having  regard  to  all  the  social  conditions  under 
which  we  live  this  mechanical  form  of  union  is  impracticable,  as  it 
is  understood  from  the  reading  of  the  mere  letter.  But  having 
lost  this  form,  which  broke  down  under  the  eyes  of  apostles  them- 
selves, we  still  reserve  the  spiritual  outcome  and  meaning.  My 
contention  is  that  to-day  Christianity  makes  all  things  common, 
and  that  Christian  society  as  it  is  constituted  in  a  Christian  land  is 
the  true  e.xpression  of  the  spirit  Avhich  formed  itself  otherwise  in 
primitive  days.  My  strength  is  not  my  own,  it  belongs  to  the 
weakest  child  that  I  may  see  groaning  under  oppression.  If  I 
interfere  in  the  case  of  an  oppressed  man,  and  if  the  oppressor 
should  say  to  me.  What  have  you  to  do  with  this  man — he  is  not 
yours.?  Christianity  obliges  me  to  say  he  is  mine.  If  you  see  an 
animal  ill-used  and  ill-treated,  though  it  be  not  yours  in  any 
technical  or  legal  sense  of  the  term,  you  are  called  upon  to  inter- 
fere by  an  earlier  right,  and  by  a  diviner  law.  Whoever  has 
strength  owns  it  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  none.  Why  give 
bread  to  that  poor  little  child  }  the  child  is  not  yours.  Yes,  the 
child  is  mine  by  virtue  of  its  necessity.  It  would  not  be  mine  in 
so  tender  a  sense  were  it  clothed  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  and 
fared  sumptuously  every  day,  but  by  its  weakness,  by  its  poverty, 
by  its  tears,  by  '\\S'homeless7i€ss,  it  is  my  child,  and  every  man  holds 


LARGER  MEANINGS  NEEDED.  yj 

his  possession  as  a  trust,  for  every  other  man  who  is  in  respectable 
poverty. 

So  we  must  go  to  larger  meanings,  and  no  longer  seek  in  little 
narrow  definitions  the  whole  meaning  of  the  Christian  revelation. 
This  very  thing,  this  high  Christian  socialism  is  now  realized  in 
Christian  society,  and  society  owes  more  to  Christ  in  this  respect 
than  society  is  sometimes  willing  to  admit.  To  me  there  is  noth- 
ing good  that  I  cannot  trace  back  to  the  heart  of  the  Son  of  God. 
Good  thinking,  true  teaching,  noble  action,  high  motive,  look 
where  I  may,  I  find  the  only  satisfactory  explanation  of  all  these 
things  in  the  priesthood,  the  doctrine,  the  life,  the  cross  of  the  Son 
of  God. 

Christianity  is  followed  always  by  the  same  effects.  Do  not  let 
us  give  way  to  the  mischievous  suggestion  that  certain  things  hap- 
pened in  apostolic  times  which  are  impossible  now.  It  is  not  so  : 
that  is  where  the  Church  has  lost  her  inspiration,  her  weight  and 
her  spiritual  philosophy.  She  is  content  to  have  a  Christ  two 
thousand  years  old.  The  Church  is  to-day  defending  the  Christ 
of  the  first  century  instead  of  living  the  present  Christ  who  is  now 
praying  for  her.  The  historical  argument  will  never  cease  to  have 
its  own  proper  value  ;  documentary  evidence  must  always  be  valu- 
able in  the  very  highest  courts  of  Christian  tribunal  :  but  what  we, 
the  rank  and  file,  have  to  do  is  this,  to  remember  that  Christ  is 
but  a  day  old  as  well  as  a  thousand  years  old.  Born  to-day^  as 
well  as  twenty  centuries  since  ;  living  to-day,  as  certainly  as  he  lived 
when  he  walked  in  Jewry  and  did  miracles  in  Galilee.  But  we 
have  let  him  out  of  our  grip  ;  we  have  allowed  him  to  pass  us 
unnoticed.  We  are  talking  about  ancient  history  instead  of  testi- 
fying to  present  experience.  Let  me  call  you — I  would  I  could  do 
so  in  trumpet  tones,  yea,  with  the  boom  and  solemnity  of  thunder 
itself — to  the  realization  of  this  doctrine,  that  Christ  is  now  living, 
that  his  gospel  is  as  mighty  to-day  as  it  ever  was,  that  the  human 
heart  is  unchanged,  that  the  disease  of  the  heart  needs  the  exact 
remedy  which  is  found  in  the  gospel,  and,  if  we  faithfully  and 
lovingly  preach  and  live  what  we  know  of  inspired  truth,  the  hearts 
of  men  will  own  our  call  of  God  and  our  ministry  by  tongue  and 
pen,  and  life  shall  not  fall  without  some  noble  recognition  and 
response. 


IX. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  our  heart's  desire  is  to  climb  thy  hill  and  find  audi- 
ence with  thee  in  the  heavens.  Is  there  not  an  appointed  way  ?  Is  not 
Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son,  a  living  way  to  the  Father  ?  We  can  enter  only  by 
him  ;  other  door  there  is  none  ;  this  is  a  wide  open  door,  and  we  enter 
into  it  with  joy  of  heart.  For  every  beam  of  light  we  bless  thee  ;  for 
every  hope  that  makes  us  glad  we  give  thee  thanks.  Thou  knovvest  how 
much  we  are  in  the  valley,  and  how  often  we  pass  through  dark  places. 
Suddenly  thou  dost  shoot  down  upon  us  rays  of  light  ;  they  warm  us  and 
give  us  a  new  comfort  of  the  soul,  so  that  we  look  upwards  and  are  made 
glad  with  heavenly  pleasure.  We  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of 
the  ear,  so  that  thy  name  is  familiar  unto  us,  but  now  would  we  know 
thee  by  the  love  of  the  heart,  by  the  tender  sympathy  of  the  quickened 
soul,  yea,  we  would  enter  into  communion  with  the  Father  and  with  the 
Son  and  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  How  much  we  have  to  overcome  that  we 
may  do  this  thou  knowest  ;  but  thou  dost  beat  even  mountains  to  pieces, 
and  crush  the  rock  before  the  feet  of  thy  people  ;  and  as  for  the  rivers 
and  the  seas  which  divide  between  us,  thou  dost  utterly  dry  them  up. 
Therefore  we  bow  before  thee  with  a  new  song  in  our  mouth,  with  a  new 
hope  brightening  our  hearts,  and  for  this  we  bless  thee  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth.  Thou  hast  brought  us  together  not  to  inflict 
on  us  a  disappointment.  For  this  thou  didst  not  cause  the  trumpet  of 
convocation  to  be  sounded.  Thou  hast  called  us  together  into  one  family 
and  fellowship  for  the  passing  hour,  that  thou  mayest  reveal  thyself  to  us 
in  some  new  and  unexpected  beauty.  Let  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  our 
God  be  upon  us.  Let  there  be  a  shining  from  heaven  of  a  great  light, 
that  shall  chase  every  shadow  away,  and  create  a  glory  compared  with 
which  there  is  none  beside.  For  all  the  blessings  of  the  week  how  can 
we  sing  a  song  of  gratitude  sufficient  ?  Hast  thou  not  made  a  way  for 
thyself  in  the  darkness,  and  hast  thou  not  turned  the  noon-day  itself  into 
sevenfold  brightness  ?  Thou  hast  withheld  no  good  thing  from  us  ;  thou 
hast  given  unto  us  blessings  with  both  hands,  and  the  windows  of  heaven 
have  been  too  small  to  enable  thee  to  pour  down  upon  us  all  the  stores  of 
thy  grace. 

Yet  we  have  received  thy  blessings  oftentimes  with  neglect,  sometimes 
with  utter  forgetfulness,  now  and  then  almost  with  practical  contempt. 
We  have  not  seen  thine  image  and  superscription  upon  thy  daily  gifts. 


THE   TEXT.  79 


Thou  hast  been  paying  tribute  unto  us,  and  we  have  not  repaid  thee  with 
our  deep  love.  Yet  wherein  we  have  answered  thee  at  all  we  bless  thee 
for  the  reply  we  have  given  thee,  forasmuch  as  the  answer  was  inspired 
by  thine  own  Spirit.  If  we  have  done  anything  aright,  this  also  is  the 
Lord's  doing.  If  our  thoughts  have  lifted  themselves  up  above  all 
clouds,  and  have  fastened  themselves  with  holy  awe  upon  the  subject  of 
thine  eternity  and  thy  grace,  behold  this  is  the  greatest  of  thy  miracles. 
We  are  prone  to  search  in  the  dust  for  our  blessings  ;  we  hew  unto  our- 
selves cisterns,  that  we  may  drink  at  them  and  be  sufficed,  and  behold, 
they  are  broken  cisterns  that  can  hold  no  water.  The  river  of  God  is  full 
of  water.  To  that  river  we  now  repair  ;  may  we  find  in  it  healing  and 
satisfaction,  and  see  in  it  all  the  meaning  of  thine  infinite  grace.  We  are 
poor,  but  our  poverty  is  not  a  hindrance  in  thy  sight,  but  an  attraction. 
Thou  dost  give  to  the  poor  and  needy  ;  thou  dost  shelter  the  homeless  ; 
thou  art  the  Friend  of  those  who  have  no  friend,  the  Refuge  of  the  peni- 
tent and  the  distressed,  the  Sanctuary  of  men  who  long  to  be  free  from 
sin.  Thou  art  training  us  by  thine  own  way  and  Spirit,  and  we  cannot 
follow  all  the  course  of  thy  discipline,  because  we  understand  it  not  ;  but 
thy  way  is  right  ;  thou  wilt  justify  thy  way  to  us,  and  when  thou  hast 
tried  us  thou  wilt  bring  us  forth  as  gold.  Let  this  assurance  make  our 
hearts  quiet  every  day  ;  may  we  rest  in  this  holy  doctrine,  and  be  quieted 
with  thine  own  peace.  The  Lord  visit  us  every  one  according  to  our  per- 
sonal need,' and  where  there  is  special  praise  for  special  blessing,  the 
Lord  receive  the  hymn  of  love,  and  grant  reply  still  larger  than  before. 
Where  there  is  mourning  of  heart  because  of  loss,  pain,  bereavement,  or 
anticipation  of  distress,  the  Lord  grant  the  healing  grace  of  heaven.  We 
have  heard  of  the  balm  that  is  in  Gilead,  and  of  the  Physician  that  is 
there,  and  we  now  hasten  towards  thee  that  we  may  be  healed.  Grant 
unto  us  in  all  our  life  just  what  we  need.  If  thou  dost  not  answer  our 
prayers  as  we  expect,  do  thou  grant  unto  our  hearts  a  peace  that  holds 
within  its  depths  all  assurance  of  grace.  The  Lord's  light  come  from  the 
whole  heavens  and  make  the  place  glorious.  The  Lord  pity  us,  and  take 
away  the  cloud  of  fear  ;  the  Lord  himself  rejoice  in  his  people  redeemed 
with  blood,  and  cause  them  to  sing  a  new  song  of  mercy  and  of  judg- 
ment. May  this  hour  be  the  most  glorious  and  memorable  in  the  recol- 
lection of  the  soul.  Now  we  wait  for  thy  reply  ;  we  pray  in  the  name  of 
the  Saviour  ;  we  go  by  the  way  of  the  Cross  ;  our  prayers  we  offer  to  the 
presiding  Priest  that  he  may  magnify  them  and  cleanse  them,  ennobling 
all  their  meaning  and  purpose,  and  seeking  for  us  the  ansvver  of  thy 
peace.  Let  our  sins  fall  away  from  us  like  a  garment,  never  more  to  be 
taken  up,  and  let  thy  grace  possess  itself  of  our  hearts,  and  make  them 
glad  with  the  very  joy  of  heaven.     Amen. 


8o  ACTS  III.  i-ii. 


Acts  iii.  1-11. 

1.  Now  Peter  and  John  [it  is  to  John  that  Peter  turns  for  comfort  after 
his  fall]  went  up  together  into  the  temple  at  the  hour  of  prayer,  being  the 
ninth  hour. 

2.  And  a  certain  man  lame  from  his  mother's  womb  was  carried  [«-e 
may  carry  those  we  cannot  hear\,  whom  they  laid  daily  at  the  gate  [so 
massive  that  twenty  men  were  required  to  open  or  shut  it]  of  ihe  temple 
which  is  called  Beautiful  [named  only  here],  to  ask  alms  of  them  that 
entered  into  the  temple. 

3.  Who  seeing  Peter  and  John  about  to  go  into  the  temple  asked  an 
alms. 

4.  And  Peter,  fastening  his  eyes  [a  look  which  read  character]  upon 
him  with  John,  said,  Look  on  us. 

5.  And  he  gave  heed  unto  them,  expecting  to  receive  something  of 
them. 

6.  Then  Peter  said.  Silver  and  gold  have  I  none  ;  but  such  as  I  have 
give  I  thee  :   In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth  rise  up  and  w^alk. 

7.  And  he  took  him  by  the  right  hand,  and  lifted  him  up  :  and  immedi- 
ately his  feet  and  ankle  bones  received  strength  [literally,  "  were  con- 
solidated "]. 

8.  And  he  leaping  up  [Isaiah  xxxv.  6]  stood,  and  walked,  and  entered 
with  them  into  the  temple,  walking,  and  leaping,  and  praising  God. 

9.  And  all  the  people  saw  him  walking  and  praising  God. 

10.  And  they  knew  that  it  was  he  which  sat  for  alms  at  the  Beautiful 
gate  of  the  temple  :  and  they  were  filled  with  wonder  and  amazement  at 
that  which  had  happened  unto  him. 

11.  And  as  the  lame  man  which  was  healed  held  Peter  and  John,  all 
the  people  ran  together  unto  them  in  the  porch  that  is  called  .Solomon's 
[outside  the  temple,  on  the  eastern  side],  greatly  wondering. 

THE   LAME   MAN   HEALED. 

YOU  will  not  see  the  whole  beauty  of  this  paragraph  unless 
you  connect  it  with  the  chapter  preceding.  You  remember 
the  infinite  excitement  of  that  chapter  :  it  is  the  chapter  which 
tells  us  the  marvellous  history  of  Pentecost,  when  the  Holy  Ghost 
had  been  poured  out  upon  the  waiting  Church,  "  Suddenly  there 
came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it 
filled  all  the  house"  where  the  Church  was  sitting,  "  and  there 
appeared  unto  them  cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon 
each  of  them  ;  and  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
began  to  speak  with  other  tongues  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utter- 
ance."    There  had  never  been  such  a  day  in  the  Church  before. 


QUIET  WORSHIP.  .  8i 


The  spirit  of  the  day  was  a  spirit  of  ecstasy  ;  men  saw  visions  and 
heard  voices,  and  forraed  such  noble  purposes  as  had  never  before 
animated  their  breasts.  It  was  a  high  day  in  the  Church.  The 
silver  trumpet  had  sounded  ;  the  last  shadow  seemed  to  have  fled 
away  ;  and  the  family  of  God  congregated  there  was  filled  with 
ineffable  delight ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  even  the  \t\m^  prop- 
erly question  fell  quite  out  of  sight.  No  man  reckoned  that  any- 
thing he  had  was  his  own  ;  all  that  believed  were  together  like  a 
family,  and  had  all  things  common  ;  they  sold  their  possessions 
and  goods,  and  parted  them  to  all  men  as  every  man  had  need. 
There  was  no  suspicion  of  selfishness,  for  no  life  was  bounded 
merely  by  its  own  interests.  Life  was  raised  up  to  a  higher  level 
than  it  had  ever  attained,  and  the  people  were  praising  God  from 
morning  till  night ;  "  they  continued  daily  with  one  accord  in  the 
temple,  breaking  bread  from  house  to  house,  and  eating  their 
meat  with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart."  Surely  the  millen- 
nium had  come  ! 

After  this  there  will  be  no  more  common-place  :  anything  that 
can  transpire  after  such  a  realization  of  the  Divine  presence  will  be 
of  the  nature  of  common-place,  and  will  be  resented  in  high 
temper  as  unworthy  to  follow  such  a  manifestation  !  Who  would 
willingly  come  out  of  the  blue  heavens,  to  walk  again  on  the  com- 
mon earth  }  Who  would  voluntarily  abandon  angelic  society,  to 
come  down  again  to  the  common  thoroughfares  and  pathways  of 
ordinary  life  .?  You  must  enter  into  this  excitement  if  you  would 
understand  the  opening  words  of  the  third  chapter.  Probably 
there  are  no  quieter  words  to  be  found  anywhere  than  are  these  : 
"  Now  Peter  and  John  went  up  together  into  the  temple  at  the 
hour  of  prayer."  After  the  excitement  of  the  second  chapter,  is 
not  this  of  the  nature  of  an  anti-climax  .?  What  can  come  after 
the  thunder,  and  the  whirlwind,  and  the  mighty  revelations  of  the 
Divine  presence  1  Two  men — former  partners  in  the  fishing  trade, 
often  together,  the  complement  of  one  another  as  to  many  mental 
and  moral  qualities— two  men  "  went  up  together  into  the  temple 
at  the  hour  of  prayer. ' '  Then  see  that  the  ecstatic  hours  of  life 
ought  to  be  succeeded  by  quiet  worship,  for  that  alone  can  sustain 
the  heart  with  true  nourishment.  Men  cannot  live  in  ecstasy  ; 
God  grants  unto  his  Church  times  of  refreshing,  hours  of  enthusi- 
asm, days  when  the  whole  horizon  opens  like  an  infinite  door  into 


82  ACTS  in.  I -I  I. 


the  upper  places  of  the  universe  ;  but  after  such  peculiarly  solemn 
manifestations  of  power  and  grace,  he  expects  us  to  go  up  into 
the  temple  to  pray,  as  he  knows  such  visions  make  all  other  life 
ordinary  and  common.  Whatever  luxuries  you  may  enjoy  occa- 
sionally, you  must  have  bread  permanently  ;  we  do  not  live  on 
luxuries,  we  live  on  bread.  We  cannot  always  live  in  the  extra- 
ordinary, for  by  the  very  fact  of  its  being  always  extraordinary  it 
would  cease  to  be  other  than  usual.  But  were  not  the  men 
inspired  ?  Had  not  they  seen  great  sights,  and  heard  great  voices, 
and  had  they  not  actually  received  into  their  hearts  the  Holy 
Ghost .''  To  these  inquiries  an  emphatic  affirmation  must  be 
returned.  Yet,  notwithstanding  all  these  special  circumstances, 
the  two  men  "  went  up  together  into  the  temple  at  the  hour  of 
prayer."  The  clock  was  not  altered  ;  the  time-bill  of  heaven  was 
not  changed  :  the  great  Pentecostal  storm  had  rushed  across  the 
heavens,  and  had  left  behind  it  showers  of  blessings.  Still  the 
quiet  clock  ticked  and  travelled  on  to  the  time  of  the  offering  of 
the  evening  sacrifice,  and  Peter  and  John  were  not  so  transported 
by  special  ecstasies  as  to  forget  their  daily  and  aistomary  engage- 
ments With  God.  Suspect  any  inspiration  that  makes  you  con- 
temptuous of  ordinary  religious  duly.  If  any  men  had  reason  to 
suppose  that  they  could  dispense  with  ordinary  worship,  and 
customary  routine,  Peter  and  John  were  such.  They  might  have 
said,  ' '  We  have  outlived  all  this  ;  we  are  no  longer  mechanical 
worshippers,  we  take  no  note  of  time  now  ;  we  have  received  the 
Holy  Ghost  into  our  hearts,  and  for  us  all  Sabbath  days,  and  sac- 
rificial hours,  and  sacred  places,  are  abolished — we  live  the  higher 
life,  we  enjoy  the  ineffable  consciousness."  No  such  speech  did 
they  make. 

Inspiration  never  lessens  duly ;  true  inspiration  ennobles  our 
conception  of  what  is  due  from  us  to  the  Divine  Being.  Any 
supposed  inspiration  that  has  withdrawn  men  from  the  Temple 
and  poisoned  them  with  the  delusion  that  they  could  sufficiently 
read  the  Bible  at  home,  is  an  inspiration  coming  otherwhere  than 
from  Heaven.  You  cannot  read  the  Bible  at  home  in  any  exhaus- 
tive and  final  sense.  You  were  not  made  to  live  at  home  always  ; 
you  have  in  you  instincts  that  can  only  be  satisfied  by  great  public 
associations.  There  is  in  you  that  which  finds  its  completion  in 
public  fellows*hip.  Christian  communion,  and  general  intercourse 


INSPIRATION  NOT  LOST.  83 

of  mind  with  mind  upon  the  sublime  topics  of  Heavenly  truth. 
It  does  a  man  good  to  "go  up  into  the  temple  at  the  hour  of 
prayer, ' '  that  he  may  pray  ;  it  does  every  man  good  to  be  now  and 
then  in  a  crowd  :  public  assembly  has  an  educational  and  social 
influence  upon  the  individual  life.  Standing  alone,  a  man  may 
seem  to  be  very  great,  very  important,  and  very  self-complete  ;  it 
is  when  he  enters  into  a  crowd  that  he  realises  his  humanity,  his 
littleness,  and  yet  the  very  greatness  that  comes  of  that  contraction 
of  individuaUty.  "  Forsake  not  the  assembling  of  yourselves 
together."  Peter  and  John  did  not,  for  immediately  after  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  under  the  jo3'ous  realization  of  the  newly-given  Spirit, 
they  went  up  into  the  Temple  at  the  hour  of  prayer.  Are  we  not 
wrong  in  supposing  \}a3X  prayer  can  ever  be  of  the  nature  of  com- 
mon-place }     What  is  prayer .?     Is  it  not  communion  with  God  ? 

Our  conception  of  prayer  has  fallen.  Few  men  can  pray  all  the 
day.  We  pray  sometimes  through  the  prayers  of  others,  and  this 
is  the  true  interpretation  of  the  priestly  element  in  human  nature. 
Perhaps  you  cannot  sing  vocally,  but  you  may  sing  sympathetically 
with  the  great  Vocalist.  So  sympathetic  may  you  be,  that  though 
you  may  find  it  impossible  to  express  the  sentiments  which  animate 
your  hearts  and  give  a  nobility  to  your  aspirations,  yet  when  you 
hear  those  sentiments  expressed  by  a  gifted  tongue  they  are  made 
your  prayers  of  by  your  cordial  Amen.  We  should  never  give  way 
to  the  blasphemous  suggestion  that  prayer  is  or  can  be  ordinary  ; 
there  is  nothing  ordinary  in  any  true  prayer  ;  to  pray  is  to  redeem 
any  day  from  common-place.  To  have  one  quick,  flashing  view 
of  God  makes  common  time  sacred.  If  we  pray  mechanically  or 
by  rote,  or  if  prayer  be  the  mere  repetition  of  words  which  have 
never  passed  through  the  heart,  and  been  stained  with  its  blood, 
then  I  wonder  not  that  men  have  become  weary  of  prayer,  and 
should  long  for  it  to  cease  ;  but  when  we  truly  realise  the  nature 
and  scope  of  prayer,  and  when  the  heart  beats  sympathetically 
through  the  whole  compass  of  communion  with  God,  there  can  be 
nothing  common-place  in  prayer,  even  if  it  immediately  succeed 
the  storms  and  shocks  of  Pentecost  itself.  But  had  the  Apostles 
lost  their  inspiration  ?  Verily,  there  was  hardly  time  for  any  such 
loss  to  have  taken  j)lace,  for  the  narrative  reads  as  if  it  were  almost 
one,  without  break,  and  without  any  punctuation  that  would 
separate  substantially  the  one  part  from  the  other.     They  had  not 


84  ACTS  III.  i-ir. 


lost  their  inspiration,  as  is  evident  by  what  they  did.  Look  at  the 
case  !  Here  is  a  man  lame  from  his  mother's  womb,  who  had 
never  walked  to  the  Temple,  but  was  always  carried  by  friends — 
carried  there  every  day,  and  carried  every  day  too  to  the  most 
attractive  spot  in  all  the  surroundings  of  the  temple.  No  man  had 
ever  cured  him  ;  we  are  not  aware  that  any  man  had  ever 
attempted  to  heal  him  ;  but  Peter,  fastening  his  eyes  upon  him, 
with  John,  said,  "  Look  on  us  !"  That  was  the  first  time  prob- 
ably he  had  ever  looked  with  all  his  soul.  No  such  speech  had 
ever  thrilled  him  before.  Only  if  we  had  heard  the  accents  with 
which  Peter  said,  "  Look  upon  us,"  should  we  be  able  to  under- 
stand the  ardent  gaze  of  the  expectant  beggar.  Verily,  these  men 
then  had  not  lost  their  inspiration,  or  they  never  would  have  taken 
this  course  with  the  suppliant  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple. 
They  could  work  this  miracle.  Let  that  be  taken  as  a  proof  of  the 
continuance  of  their  inspiration  ;  and  yet  we  see  that  notwithstand- 
ing the  continuance  of  their  inspiration  they  are  going  up  like 
ordinary  humble  worshippers  to  pray  in  the  temple. 

Young  men,  let  me,  as  your  friend  and  teacher,  advise  you  to 
beware  of  any  inspiration  that  leads  you  away  from  apostolic  prac- 
tice. Your  ambition  may  be  easily  excited,  and  you  may  not 
require  a  very  expert  tempter  of  the  human  mind  to  say  to  you 
that  perhaps  you  may  be  a  genius,  a  man  of  a  particularly  refined 
and  sensitive  character.  You  need  not  submit  to  take  upon  you 
the  yoke  of  religious  custom  ;  your  place  is  the  side  of  the  purling 
brook,  yours  to  watch  the  meandering  stream,  yours  to  hold  s:on- 
verse  with  rising  and  setting  suns.  When  such  temptation  seduces 
you  give  it  the  lie.  You  have  not  the  ardour  of  holy  Peter,  you 
have  not  the  mental  crown  and  moral  glow  of  the  divine  John,  and 
it  will  be  better  for  you  to  follow  in  the  way  of  apostolic  practice 
than  to  yield  up  your  religious  life  at  the  bidding  of  an  anonymous 
tempter.  The  law  would  seem  to  be  that  every  miracle  should  be 
succeeded  hy  prayer,  and  every  great  effort  of  human  life  should 
be  followed  by  a  religious  exercise,  every  outgoing  of  the  soul 
should  have  its  compensatory  movement  in  silent  communion  with 
God.  After  you  have  been  striving  arduously  and  valiantly  in  the 
fight,  plunge  into  the  bath,  so  to  say,  of  divine  meditation  and 
heavenly  communion,  and  therein  leave  your  weakness  and  recover 
your  strength.     This  incidental  conversation  with  the  poor  lame 


THE  TRUE  RICHES.  85 

beggar  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple  gives  us  some  particu- 
lars about  the  Apostles  themselves,  and  those  particulars  are  the 
more  valuable  because  of  the  way  in  which  they  are  introduced 
into  the  narrative.  It  is  perfectly  evident  that  having  all  things 
common  had  not  enriched  Peter  and  John.  We  wonder  sometimes 
as  to  the  meaning  of  the  apostolic  communion,  and  here  is  a  side- 
light upon  it  of  a  very  striking  kind.  The  men  who  belonged  to 
the  apostolic  communion  had  neither  silver  nor  gold.  Apostolic 
communion  wag  no  priest's  trick  :  it  was  no  attempt  to  enrich  the 
apostolate  at  the  expense  of  the  Christian  public.  Here  are  two  of 
the  most  conspicuous  of  the  apostolate  saying,  quite  in  an  inciden- 
tal manner  as  an  explanatory  basis  of  proposed  action,  "Silver 
and  gold  have  we  none." 

So  much  the  better  for  them  !  Woe  unto  the  Apostle  who 
spends  one  half  of  his  life  in  getting  silver  and  gold,  and  the  other 
half  in  watching  that  they  do  not  run  away  from  him.  ' '  Silver 
and  gold  have  I  none  ;"  what  had  they,  then }  They  had  divine 
energy,  spiritual  life,  social  sympathy,  and  hearts  to  bless  those 
who  needed  benediction  and  assistance.  The  poverty  of  the 
Apostles  was  in  material  substance  only  ;  and  therefore  it  was  no 
poverty  at  all.  He  is  the  poor  man  who  has  nothing  but  TJioitey  ; 
there  are  no  poorer  men  in  all  the  range  of  civilization  to-day  than 
those  men  who  are  overweighted  wath  property.  He  is  rich  who 
has  high  ideals  and  noble  sympathies,  and  who  lives  in  the  pres- 
ence of  God  and  in  the  service  of  truth.  He  cannot  be  alone  ; 
there  is  no  solitude  for  the  truly  intellectual  and  spiritual  nature. 
Some  men  cannot  understand  silence  ;  if  you  are  nor  for  ever  talk- 
ing to  them,  they  suppose  that  you  are  dull  ;  if  you  do  not  walk 
out  hour  after  hour  during  the  day,  and  talk  the  whole  tmie,  they 
inquire  considerately  as  to  your  spirits,  and  as  to  whether  there  is 
not  something  in  your  temperament  that  tends  toward  melan- 
choly. If  men  have  not  upon  their  faces  an  eternal  grin  they  are 
supposed  to  be  unhappy.  You  have  met  with  persons  who  say 
they  never  walk  out  alone.  I  thank  God  I  can  never  walk  out  in 
company  1  Have  your  riches  in  your  mind,  in  your  heart,  in 
your  thoughts,  in  your  purposes,  in  your  beneficent  plans,  and  the 
night  will  be  as  the  day,  and  the  day  will  be  seven-fold  in  bright- 
ness. Then  you  shall  not  know  what  it  is  to  feel  the  chill  and 
pain  of  solitude.      This  action  of  the  Apostles  also  shows  how  pos- 


86  ACTS  III.  I -I  I, 


sible  it  is  to  be  giving  less  than  others,  and  at  the  same  time  to  be 
giving  more  than  they  all.  * '  Silver  and  gold  have  I  none. ' ' 
"  Then  he  could  give  nothing,"  would  be  the  swift  and  shallow 
reasoning  of  those  who  read  the  surface  only.  "  But  such  as  I  have 
give  I  thee."  That  is  the  giving  that  does  not  impoverish  ;  the 
more  given  the  more  left.     It  is  the  giving  of  the  sim. 

The  sun  has  been  giving  his  light ;  he  has  shone  for  thousands 
of  years,  and  yet  he  is  as  luminous  as  when  he  first  looked  out 
upon  the  darkness  which  he  dispelled.  Give  mechanically,  and 
you  will  weary  of  the  exercise  ;  but  give  spiritually,  jind  you  will 
increase  your  possessions  by  the  very  giving  of  your  alms.  I  take 
this  incident  as  representing  our  own  Christian  life  to-day  in  some 
important  aspects.  Our  Christian  life  has  its  Pentecost.  There 
are  rare  days  in  our  consciousness  ;  there  are  times  when  we  think 
we  are  almost  going  into  the  celestial  company  ;  there  are  hours 
of  transport,  of  high,  tender  realization,  in  which  we  know  that 
though  we  are  separated  from  the  heavenly  host  by  time  and  space, 
we  yet  can  almost  take  hold  of  hands.  And  are  there  not  days 
upon  which,  when  we  open  the  Bible,  the  whole  page  gleams  with 
a  new  light,  and  when  the  very  rustling  of  the  leaves  is  as  the 
shaking  of  the  tree  of  Life  ?     Have  we  not  all  said — 

"  My  willing  soul  would  stay  in  such  a  frame  as  this, 
And  sit  and  sing  herself  away  to  everlasting  bliss"  ? 

But  the  practical  lesson  immediately  succeeds.  We  are  not  to 
live  in  such  ecstasy  ;  we  are  to  go  into  the  ordinary  routine,  if  you 
so  please,  of  worship.  Herein  many  hearers  are  hard  upon  those 
who  preach  ;  the  preacher  is  relied  upon  for  the  undue  and  con- 
tinual excitement  of  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  nature.  We  for- 
get that  we  do  not  live  in  excitement,  but  in  the  ordinary  patient, 
thankful  enjoyment  of  customary  service  ;  and  our  religious  life, 
like  the  life  of  the  Apostles,  has  its  work  to  do  outside  the  Temple. 

A  man  may  pray  none  the  less  prayerfully  because  he  has  aided 
some  poor  creature  before  he  entered  the  sacred  place.  We  should 
have  enjoyed  the  service  many  a  time  much  more  keenly  if  before 
coming  to  it  we  had  made  some  sorrowful  heart  glad.  That  is  the 
preparation  for  prayer.  To  have  been  with  some  lonely  one  ;  to 
have  created  an  atmosphere  of  friendliness  around  the  solitary 
traveller  ;  to  have  lifted  the  burden   of  life  for  one  short  minute 


THE  STRONGEST  VINDICATION.  87 

from  a  back  too  weak  to  bear  it,  would  have  been  to  have  enjoyed 
in  the  most  profound  and  satisfactory  sense  the  service  of  the  house 
of  God.  If  you  want  to  come  up  at  the  time  of  the  offering  of  the 
evening  sacrifice  with  glowing,  thankful  hearts,  ready  to  receive 
any  communication  God  may  make  to  them,  spend  the  interven- 
ing hours  in  doing  good  to  those  who  sit  in  solitary  places.  Visit 
the  poor  and  the  friendless  ;  hear  their  dreary  tales  ;  and  when 
you  come  to  the  house  of  God  you  will  come,  not  in  a  spirit  of 
criticism,  but  in  a  spirit  of  sympathy,  and  from  the  first  note  to 
the  last  there  shall  be  a  shining  forth  and  revelation  of  the  Divine 
presence.  Then,  finally,  the  Christianity  of  this  day,  like  the 
Christianity  of  the  Apostolic  day,  must  prove  its  divinity  by  its 
beneficence.  "  In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  rise  up 
and  walk." 

Peter  did  not  preach  a  sermon  to  the  man.  To  the  excited 
multitude  he  expounded  the  Scriptures  ;  he  quoted  the  Psalms 
and  the  Prophets,  and  shewed  what  new  interpretation  God  had 
given  to  His  word  ;  but  when  he  came  face  to  face  with  the  man 
lame  from  his  mother's  womb,  unable  to  help  himself,  he  preached 
no  sermon  except  as  the  mention  of  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Nazareth  is  always  a  sermon,  but  bade  the  helpless  man  rise  up 
and  walk.  Here  is  the  sphere  in  which  Christian  argument  may 
yet  secure  its  highest  triumph.  Words  can  be  answered  by  words, 
phrases  beget  phrases,  and  the  easy  trick  of  recrimination  is  the 
favorite  amusement  of  mere  controversialists  ;  but  a  Church  seek- 
ing out  the  lowly,  helping  the  helpless,  healing  the  sick,  teaching 
the  ignorant,  standing  by  the  cause  of  righteousness,  defying  the 
oppressor,  and  suffering  and  working  for  the  right,  is  a  Church 
whose  beneficence  is  its  noblest  attribute,  and  whose  character  is 
the  only  vindication  it  requires. 


X. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  pray  thee  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  to 
work  thy  wonders  in  our  hearts,  and  to  make  us  signs  and  tokens  unto 
all  the  people.  May  the  change  in  us  be  so  great  that  all  who  have 
known  us  aforetime  may  marvel  at  the  mighty  power  of  thy  grace. 
Enable  us  to  live  the  heavenly  life  whilst  we  are  yet  upon  earth  ;  to  speak 
thy  Word  ;  to  answer  all  the  intimations  of  thy  purpose  ;  and  to  respond 
in  one  continual  answer  of  obedience  to  all  thy  holy  will.  We  rejoice 
that  we  are  thine  in  Christ.  Thou  hast  caused  us  to  undergo  the  vital 
change  which  makes  us  sons  of  God.  We  are  no  more  strangers  and 
foreigners  ;  nor  are  we  wandering  prodigals,  aliens,  outcast.  We  are  the 
children  of  the  living  God.  We  are  part  of  the  whole  family  in  heaven 
and  o.i  earth.  And  this  is  of  the  Lord's  mercy,  and  not  of  our  will. 
Thou  hast  recovered  us  from  our  fall.  We  stand  in  thy  house  with  the 
light  of  heaven  beaming  upon  our  life  because  of  thy  goodness.  We 
therefore  praise  thee  in  our  song  ;  we  lift  up  our  hearts  joyously  to  bless 
the  Lord  for  all  his  benefits  towards  us  ;  and  we  take  heart  again,  and 
will  pursue  our  way  to  the  end,  confiding  solely  in  thy  grace  and  strength. 
Thou  dost  love  us,  every  one.  Thou  hast  sent  thy  Son  to  bless  us.  The 
Son  of  Man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save  them.  We 
therefore  look  unto  him  who  is  our  salvation.  We  trust  in  his  Cross  ;  we 
look  towards  the  mighty  sacrifice  which  he  rendered  ;  and,  because  of  the 
infiniteness  of  his  love,  we  stand  before  thee  this  day,  confident  that  thou 
wilt  not  forsake  us,  and  sure  of  thine  eternal  regard. 

We  come  with  many  wants,  and  yet  all  our  necessities  are  one.  If 
thou  wilt  grant  us  thy  peace,  then  shall  all  our  life  be  quiet.  Our  neces- 
sities shall  be  supplied  ;  the  sting  of  pain  shall  be  taken  out  of  our  heart ; 
and  in  our  mouth  there  shall  be  a  new  and  living  song.  Comfort  us  in 
all  the  way  of  the  wilderness.  The  miles  are  long  ;  the  way  is  often 
dreary  ;  all  thy  clouds  sometimes  gather  over  head,  and  look  down  upon 
us  with  infinite  threatening,  and  we  know  not  which  way  to  take  in  the 
darkness.  Speak  comfortably  to  our  hearts  in  such  hours  of  gloom,  and 
save  us  from  the  weakness  and  the  bondage  of  despair.  Surely  we  see 
thee  all  the  day  long.  Thou  dost  shine  in  the  morning  dawn,  and  at 
eventide  the  stars  glitter  because  of  thy  nearness  ;  and  between  the  rising 
of  the  sun  and  the  going  down  of  the  same,  is  not  thy  providence  a  con- 
tinual miracle  ?  Thine  hand  is  opened  in  bounteousness  ;  thine  eyes 
melt  with  pity  ;  the  outgoing  of  thine  heart  towards  us  is  a  continual 


THE  MIRACLE  OF  EXPOSITION. 


redemption.  We  confess  our  sins,  we  mourn  the  hardness  of  our  hearts. 
"  Sural)',"  we  have  said,  "  our  stubbornness  is  now  subdued,  and  in  ten- 
derness and  filial  love  we  will  walk  before  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  our 
life."  And  behold,  the  enemy  returns,  the  fire  of  hell  is  rekindled,  and 
all  our  hopes  are  cast  down.  But  thou  delightest  to  forgive.  The  ful- 
ness of  thy  pardon  is  as  the  fulness  of  the  sea.  Thy  mercy  endureth  for 
ever. 

We  pray  to  be  fed  with  the  bread  of  life.  Lord,  evermore  give  us  this 
bread.  So  strengthen  our  minds  by  daily  communications  of  truth,  and 
so  uphold  our  hearts  by  continual  supplies  of  grace,  that  our  walk  may  be 
steadfast  before  the  Lord,  that  our  spirit  may  show  itself  to  be  continually 
waiting  upon  God. 

We  pray  always  for  one  another  ;  that  the  dumb  may  speak  ;  that  the 
deaf  may  hear  ;  that  all  who  are  carried  from  thy  fold  may  return  because 
of  recovered  strength.  Magnify  thy  grace  in  our  experience  ;  so  destroy 
the  power  of  the  Enemy  that  we  shall  forget  his  existence,  and  so  release 
us  from  all  anxiety,  and  from  all  secondary  attachments,  as  to  bind  us  in 
constancy  of  love  to  the  worship  of  thy  name,  and  the  study  of  thy  word. 
Lift  the  burden  from  the  back  that  is  too  weak  to  bear  it.  Touch  with 
thine  own  fingers  the  tears  which  we  dare  not  approach.  Send  into  every 
heart  some  angel  to  speak  of  Jesus  and  the  Resurrection.  And,  when 
the  day  shall  close  around  us,  and  shall  no  longer  be  passing  before  us, 
but  shall  become  a  memory  of  the  heart,  may  the  recollection  of  this 
sacred  dav  abide  with  us,  a  continual  peace,  and  a  continual  inspiration. 
Amen. 

Acts  iii.  12-26. 

12.  And  when  Peter  saw  it,  he  answered  unto  the  people,  Ye  men  of 
Israel,  why  marvel  ye  at  this  [man]  ?  or  why  look  ye  so  earnestly  on  us, 
as  though  by  our  own  power  or  holiness  we  had  made  this  man  to  walk  ? 

13.  The  God  of  Abraham,  and  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,  the  God  of  our 
fathers  hath  glorified  his  Son  [servant :  Isaiah  xlii.  i]  Jesus  :  whom  ye 
delivered  up,  and  denied  him  in  the  presence  of  Pilate,  when  he  was  de- 
termined [had  decided]  to  let  him  go. 

14.  But  ye  denied  the  Holy  One  and  the  Just,  and  desired  a  murderer 
to  be  granted  unto  you. 

15.  And  killed  the  Prince  [the  same  word  is  rendered  Author  in  Heb. 
xii.  2]  of  Life,  whom  God  hath  raised  from  the  dead  [better,  raised  once 
for  all]  ;  whereof  we  are  witnesses. 

16.  And  his  name  through  faith  in  his  name  hath  made  this  man  strong, 
whom  ve  see  and  know  :  yea,  the  faith  which  is  by  him  hath  given  him 
this  perfect  soundness  [completeness  ;  the  only  place  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  which  the  word  occurs]  in  the  presence  of  you  all. 

17.  And  now,  brethren,  I  wot  that  through  ignorance  ye  did  it,  as  did 
your  rulers. 


90 


ACTS  III.   \2-26. 


18.  But  those  things,  which  God  before  had  showed  by  the  mouth  of 
ail  [all  is  omitted  by  the  east  MSS.]  his  prophets,  that  Christ  should 
suffer,  he  hath  so  fulfilled. 

19.  Repent  [change  your  minds]  ye  therefore,  and  be  converted  [this 
word  "  converted  "  occurs  eleven  times  in  the  Acts],  that  your  sins  may 
be  blotted  out,  when  the  times  of  refreshing  shall  come  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord. 

20.  And  he  shall  send  Jesus  Christ,  which  before  was  preached  unto 
you. 

21.  Whom  the  heaven  must  receive  until  the  times  of  restitution  [the 
only  instance  of  the  word]  of  all  things,  which  God  hath  spoken  by  the 
mouth  of  all  his  holy  prophets  since  the  world  began. 

22.  For  Moses  truly  [indeed]  said  unto  the  fathers,  A  prophet  shall  the 
Lord  your  God  raise  up  unto  you  of  your  brethren,  like  unto  me  ;  him 
shall  ye  hear  in  all  things  whatsoever  he  shall  say  unto  you. 

23.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  every  soul,  which  will  not  hear  that 
prophet,  shall  be  destroyed  from  among  the  people. 

24.  Yea,  and  all  the  prophets  from  Samuel  and  those  that  follow  after, 
as  many  as  have  spoken,  have  likewise  foretold  of  these  days. 

25.  Ye  are  the  children  of  the  prophets,  and  of  the  covenant  which  God 
made  with  our  fathers,  saying  unto  Abraham,  And  in  thy  seed  shall  all 
the  kindreds  of  the  earth  be  blessed. 

26.  Unto  you  first  God,  having  raised  up  his  Son  Jesus,  sent  him  to 
bless  you,  in  turning  away  every  one  of  you  from  his  iniquities. 

A  GREATER  MIRACLE. 

THIS  speech  is  a  greater  miracle  than  the  cure  of  a  lame 
man,  in  connection  with  which  it  was  spoken.  The  great 
miracles  are  all  wrought  wMin.  To  heal  a  man  with  lame  feet 
and  weak  ankle  bones  is  a  very  small  thing  compared  to  the  utter- 
ance of  this  eloquent  and  thrilling  address.  Compare  Peter  before 
the  Resurrection  with  the  Peter  of  this  speech,  and  tell  me  what 
has  happened.  Surely  a  great  cure  has  been  wrought  upon  him. 
Who  would  have  known  the  man  again— the  ardent,  impulsive, 
often-blundering  Peter  of  the  pre-resurrection  period  .?  Who  could 
have  thought  that  ever  he  would  have  dawned  into  such  glory,  and 
have  broken  forth  into  such  fluent  and  noble  eloquence  .'  Up  to 
this  time  all  his  sentences  have  been  broken  ;  his  speech  has  rather 
been  timid  with  the  spirit  of  an  enquirer  ;  we  have  never  found  in 
him,  except  upon  one  occasion,  the  boldness  of  an  inspired  ex- 
positor. But  now  he  takes  the  case  in  hand  with  masterly  com- 
pleteness and  case,  .and  fearing  no  man,  because  not  speaking  the 


THE  TRUE  PRIMACY.  91 

words  of  man,  he  explains  the  position  and  vindicates  it  at  every 
point  with  subHme  and  telling  effect. 

Peter  was  no  conjuror.  In  himself  the  miracle  had  first  been 
wrought,  therefore,  to  work  a  second  miracle  upon  the  lame  man 
became  a  commonplace  to  apostolic  power.  You  cannot  work 
miracles,  because  you  yourselves  are  not  miracles.  We  are  but 
mechanical  reformers  ;  we  approach  the  whole  case  from  the  out- 
side, and  with  many  a  lame  suggestion  we  attempt  to  mend  the 
world's  sad  condition.  We  must  be  greater  ourselves  than  any 
work  which  it  is  possible  for  ourselves  to  do.  When  we  attain  that 
superiority  over  our  own  efforts,  when  Peter  is  a  greater  miracle 
than  Peter's  cure,  we  shall  see  lame  men  leap  up  on  every  side, 
and  behold  them  walking,  and  hear  their  loud  thrilling  songs  of 
thankfulness  because  of  recovered  hope  and  newly-given  strength. 

In  this  speech  Peter  vindicated  his  apostolic  primacy.  You 
might  have  asked  questions  concerning  Peter' s  superiority  before, 
but  after  this  speech  every  objection  must  be  hushed.  Its  grand- 
eur is  so  superlative,  its  strength  is  so  massive,  its  simplicity  is  so 
frank,  its  mastery  is  so  abounding,  that  when  the  grand  voice 
ceases  all  men  feel  that  the  first  place  belongs  to  Simon  Peter. 
Any  primacy  that  is  not  based  on  merit  must  go  down.  For  a 
time  you  may  bolster  up  a  man,  you  may  preach  him  up,  you 
may,  in  many  ways,  contribute  to  his  transient  primacy  ;  but  any 
superiority  of  position  that  is  not  based  upon  fundamental  and 
vital  merit  falls  before  the  testing  touch  of  circumstances,  and  be- 
fore the  impartial  test  of  time.  So  let  this  Book  of  God  stand  or 
fall.  The  priests  cannot  keep  it  up,  though  they  be  robed  with 
white  garments  and  crowned,  and  have  staves  and  mitres  in  their 
hands.  Parliaments  and  thrones  cannot  give  the  Bible  its  lasting 
primacy  over  human  thought  and  human  actions.  If  the  inspira- 
tion be  not  in  the  Book  itself  you  cannot  communicate  it ;  and  if 
the  inspiration  really  be  in  the  Book  itself  you  can  never  talk  it 
down.  By  force  you  may  quiet  it  for  a  time  ;  but  truth  is  eternal, 
it  returns.  Men  leave  it,  supposing  it  to  be  dead,  but  it  rises  and 
reasserts  its  sovereignty. 

Thus  our  position  is  a  very  independent  one  as  regards  the 
Bible,  and  as  regards  all  the  miracles  which  the  Bible  records.  I 
do  not  receive  the  Bible  because  it  is  recommended  to  me  by 
official  authority.     The  Bible  commends  itself  to  me.     It  affrights 


92  ACTS  III.  v. 


me,  it  charms  me  ;  it  appalls  me  by  the  outflashing  of  sudden 
light  and  unexpected  glory,  so  that  I  run  away  from  the  dazzling 
revelation.  Then  it  seeks  me  when  I  am  weary,  and  lonely,  and 
sad,  and  hopeless  ;  and  when  all  life  has  gathered  itself  into  the 
image  of  a  deep,  grim  grave.  Then  it  talks  to  me  as  no  other 
book  can  talk.  So,  as  Peter's  primacy  rests  on  Peter's  sovereign 
power  of  mind,  and  sovereign  power  of  moral  influence,  so  the 
primacy  of  the  Bible  over  all  other  books  rests  upon  what  the  Bible 
itself  can  do  beyond  all  other  books  to  give  light  and  strength  and 
hope  to  human  life. 

The  danger  is  that  we  be  not  just  to  such  men  as  Peter.  We 
may  take  this  speech  as  a  mere  matter  of  course.  It  is  so  that  we 
take  too  many  speeches.  We  hear  an  eloquent  man  drop  sen- 
tence after  sentence  of  singular  beauty,  and  think  that  he  does  so 
simply  as  a  matter  of  course.  In  every  such  sentence  there  is  a 
drop  of  sacrificial  blood.  The  sentences  that  move  the  world  and 
live  through  all  time  are  heart-drops.  The  foolish  hearer  may 
allow  them  to  pass  without  recognition  or  appreciation,  but  those 
who  have  spent  long  time  in  the  sanctuary  of  thought,  and  have 
often  bowed  themselves  down  at  the  altar  with  wonder,  will  recog- 
nize in  such  speeches  as  Peter's  the  very  grace  and  glory  of  Divine 
truth.  Consider  what  this  man  was  ;  how  he  had  been  brought 
up  ;  how  often  he  had  stumbled  and  blundered  ;  how  the  inspired 
writers  never  shrink  from  telling  his  mistakes  and  sins.  Then  see 
him,  in  the  presence  and  hearing  it  may  have  been  of  the  most 
learned  men  of  his  day,  giving  this  exposition  and  no  other.  Do 
not  go  beyond  the  four  walls  of  the  case  itself,  and  upon  this 
speech  you  may  risk  your  greatest  and  deepest  commendation  of 
Peter  as  a  thinker,  as  a  saint,  as  an  apostle,  as  an  expositor  of 
heavenly  mysteries.  To  such  men  the  world  owes  all  its  higher 
wealth. 

True  eloquence  is  forced  out  of  men.  This  speech  was  not  a 
-  prepared  oration.  It  was  not  something  which  he  took  from  his 
secret  place  and  read,  as  if  the  whole  trick  had  been  arranged — the 
cure,  and  the  wonder,  and  the  eloquence.  The  sermon  was  as 
extemporaneous  as  was  the  event  itself.  This  eloquence  came  out 
of  the  circumstances  which  had  just  transpired.  The  looking 
people  make  the  eloquent  preacher.  All  the  people  fastened  their 
eyes  upon  Peter  and  John  ;  and,  as  the  lame  man  had  drawn  out 


PETER'S  POWERFUL   APPEAL. 


93 


of  Peter  spiritual  power  by  his  magnetic  look,  so  the  people  drew 
out  of  Peter  still  higher  power  by  their  marvelling — their  sceptical 
yet  gracious  wonder.  In  reply  to  that  wonder,  see  how  Peter  de- 
clines any  merely  public  primacy  based  on  purely  personal  con- 
siderations. Peter  stood  before  the  people,  not  in  his  personal 
capacity,  but  in  his  representative  capacity.  Said  he,  ' '  This  is  not 
our  doing."  "  Whose  doing  is  it.?"  "  It  is  the  Lord's  doing  ; 
and  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes."  And,  with  the  infinite  cunning 
of  inspired  wisdom,  he  magnified  the  occasion  by  attaching  the  mira- 
cle to  the  omnipotence  of  a  God  about  whose  existence  the/^w 
had  no  doubt.  Said  he,  "  The  God  of  Abraham,  and  of  Isaac, 
and  of  Jacob,  the  God  of  our  fathers,  hath  glorified  Plis  Son, 
Jesus. ' '  The  Apostles  did  not  snatch  at  praise  for  themselves. 
The  original  leaders  of  Christian  thought  and  sentiment  did  not 
leap  upon  pedestals  which  the  people,  in  their  idolatrous  wonder 
and  love,  set  up  as  temptations  in  their  way.  They  maintained 
their  royal  supremacy,  their  all-dominating  sovereignty,  by  operat- 
ing in  the  presence  of  the  people  merely  as  the  servants  and  instru- 
ments of  God.  We  must  return  to  that  allegiance  to  the  Divine 
name  and  throne.  The  books  you  have  written  were  written  by 
the  finger  of  God,  in  so  far  as  they  are  true,  and  wise,  and  useful. 
The  lives  you  have  lived  you  have  lived  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God, 
in  so  far  as  they  have  been  true,  beneficent,  and  honorable.  You 
must  resent  merely  persona/  eulogium.  Accept  it  as  an  encourage- 
ment in  the  meantime  ;  lift  the  wondering  eyes  from  yourself  to 
God,  and  you  shall  have  added  power  every  day. 

Not  only  does  Peter  decline  the  implied  eulogium  of  the  won- 
dering look,  he  takes  upon  himself  to  cut  the  people  to  pieces. 
No  great  progress  can  be  made  in  moral  reform  until  our  apostles 
slay  us.  Flattery  will  do  nothing  for  us — at  most,  will  but  mislead 
or  bewilder  us.  We  want  knife  work  ;  we  want  to  be  pierced  to 
the  heart,  told  our  sins  one  by  one,  and  brought  to  the  bar  of 
judgment  man  by  man,  like  so  many  hopeless  and  self-condemned 
criminals.  Hear  his  speech  in  proof  of  what  I  have  said.  Speak- 
ing of  Jesus  Christ,  he  says,  "  Whom  ye  delivered  up,  and  denied 
him  in  the  presence  of  Pilate.  .  .  .  But  ye  denied  the  Holy 
One  and  the  Just,  and  desired  a  murderer  to  be  granted  unto  you  ; 
and  killed  the  Prince  of  Life."  That  man  must  succeed  in  his 
ministry,  or  he  must  be  killed  1     Such  a  speaker  of  such  an  ad- 


94 


ACTS  III.  12-26. 


dress  cannot  occupy  a  middle  position,  A  man  who  so  assails  his 
contemporaries  must  have  a  good  cause  with  which  to  sustain  his 
heart  and  renew  his  courage,  or  he  will  be  borne  down,  and  the 
heel  of  the  insulted  public  shall  bruise  his  head.  When  did  the 
Apostles  speak  with  bated  breath  and  whispering  humbleness } 
When  did  they  try  to  make  the  best  of  the  case  by  appeasing  the 
spirit  of  the  people,  and  by  an  endeavor  to  placate  sensibilities 
which  had  been  strongly  excited  .?  They  never  lowered  the  tone  of 
their  impeachment,  Christ's  death  was  never  less  than  a  murder, 
and  the  men  who  had  taken  part  in  the  Crucifixion  were  never 
treated  as  other  than  murderers.  There  is  no  euphemism  here  ; 
there  is  no  attempt  here  at  the  smoothing  down  of  very  harsh 
asperities.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  here  the  bitter,  stern,  tragi- 
cal, truth,  and  that  truth  has  to  be  repeated  day  by  day,  and  age 
by  age,  until  every  man  feels  that  he  himself  has  been  the  mur- 
derer of  Christ. 

So  we  come  back  to  a  truth  with  which  this  message  has  made 
us  familiar.  We  are  not  to  put  away  the  Crucifixion  as  an  histori- 
cal circumstance,  nineteen  or  twenty  centuries  old.  The  Crucifix- 
ion takes  place  every  day,  and  every  day  we  nail  the  Son  of  God 
to  the  Cross,  Realize  this  circumstance,  let  all  its  teaching  sink 
deeply  into  our  hearts,  and  there  will  go  up  the  old  cry  of  contri- 
tion and  self-condemnation,  and  after  it  will  come  times  of  refresh- 
ing from  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 

In  the  17th  verse  the  tone  changes  with  wondrous  skill.  The 
Gospel  is  not  an  impeachment  only — it  is  an  offer,  Peter  says, 
"  I  wot  that  through  ignorance  ye  did  it,  as  did  also  your  rulers  ;" 
and  he  introduces  this  new  phase  of  the  subject  with  a  word  which 
united  himself  with  the  people — he  called  those  who  heard  him  by 
the  name  of  "brethren."  "And  now,  brethren,  I  wot  that 
through  ignorance  ye  did  it,  as  did  also  your  rulers,"  Is  that  a 
novel  suggestion  on  the  part  of  Peter  himself }  Has  he  been 
considering  how  to  extricate  these  people  from  the  awfulness  of 
their  position  .?  Nothing  of  the  kind.  This  17th  verse  repeats  the 
very  prayer  of  Christ  Himself  upon  the  Cross.  When  Jesus  was 
dying  he  said,  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do."  Peter,  following  along  the  same  line  of  thought,  says,  "  I 
wot  that  through  ignorance  ye  did  it,  as  did  also  your  rulers," 


THE  CALL  TO  REPENTANCE.  95 

So  he  opens  a  great  door  of  hope.  The  Church  ought  to  be  fertile 
in  its  invention  of  opportunities  for  the  worst  men  to  return. 
Sometimes  the  Church  may  suggest  reflections  which  the  self-con- 
demned man  dare  not  originate  in  his  own  heart.  Drop  a  word 
of  hope  wherever  you  can.  Tell  the  very  worst  man  that  the  door 
of  hope,  if  not  wide  open,  is  yet  ajar,  and  that  the  very  faintest 
touch  of  his  fingers  will  cause  it  to  fall  back  to  the  very  wall. 
Learn  from  apostolic  preaching  the  true  range  and  power  of  apos- 
tolic eloquence.  Nothing  could  be  sterner  than  his  words,  and 
yet  nothing  could  be  more  hopeful  than  the  application  of  those 
words.  In  reality,  Peter  said  to  those  who  were  about  him,  "  Be- 
gin again.  Leave  your  ignorance  behind  you.  Now  take  a  true 
view  of  the  case,  and  under  this  newly-dawning  light  fall  down 
before  God  and  ask  his  pardon. " 

Then  comes  the  grand  exhortation  in  which  we  find  the  key- 
word of  apostolic  preaching,  and  the  secret  of  apostolic  success, 
and  that  word  is  found  at  the  beginning  of  the  1 9th  verse,  ' '  Re- 
pent." That  is  a  word  which  the  Church  has  lost.  If  now  and 
again  we  use  the  word  "  repent,"  we  use  it  as  a  common  word, 
and  do  not  throw  into  it  all  the  soul's  urgency.  It  has  worked 
wonders  in  days  of  old.  It  is  like  the  sword  of  which  David  said, 
"Give  me  that;  there  is  none  like  it."  This  word  "repent" 
goes  to  the  root  and  to  the  reality  of  the  case.  Who  has  repented  1 
I  do  not  ask  who  has  been  alarmed  by  threatened  consequences, 
and  who,  in  order  to  escape  a  penalty,  denounced  in  emphatic 
language,  has  professed  a  change  of  habit  and  of  purpose.  My 
question  is  a  deeper  one.  Who  has  felt  heart-brokenness  on  ac- 
count of  sin .?  real,  genuine  contrition  on  account  of  spiritual 
offence  against  God  }  Have  we  not  forgotten  that  old  word  ' '  re- 
pent" in  its  original  signification  and  uses.  Has  the  Church  be- 
come too  dainty  in  her  tongue  to  use  such  words  .-'  The  word 
"  repent"  is  a  multitudinous  word  :  it  carries  many  other  words 
with  it.  It  is  a  challenge,  an  accusation,  a  threatening,  a  hope,  a 
law,  a  gospel.  Truly,  this  word  is  a  polysyllable  in  its  theologi- 
cal suggestions,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  often  opened  out  and 
examined,  and  its  infinite  treasures  ought  to  be  well  weighed  and 
estimated  by  the  Christian  thinker. 


96  ACTS  III.  12-26. 


There  is  another  word  in  the  19th  verse  of  as  much  importance 
as  the  Word  "repent;"  that  word  is  "therefore."  You  would 
not  suppose  the  word  "therefore"  was  a  very  important  one; 
yet  I  hold  it  to  be  as  important  as  any  other  word  in  the  whole 
text.  It  refers  to  the  historical  and  logical  argument  upon  which 
Christianity  is  founded.  "  Therefore"  is  a  logical  term.  "  There- 
fore" indicates  the  issue  and  effect  of  an  argument.  "  Therefore" 
is  a  word  which  is  not  given  first,  but  last ;  and  it  carries  in  itself 
the  meaning  and  the  force  of  all  that  has  preceded.  Peter  then, 
having  gone  back  to  "  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  of  Isaac,  and  of 
Jacob,  the  God  of  our  fathers,"  and  having  traced  the  histor}'  of 
the  Crucifixion,  and  having  explained  the  secret  by  which  the  lame 
man  had  been  healed — the  secret  of  faith  in  the  name  of  the  Son 
of  God — and  having  pointed  to  the  probable  ignorance  of  those 
who  had  crucified  the  Saviour,  and  having  shown  that  all  this 
Christian  idea  was  a  fulfilment  of  words  spoken  by  the  mouth  of 
all  God's  prophets,  he  gathers  himself  up  in  this  one  supreme 
effort,  and,  with  the  masterliness  of  an  inspired  preacher  he  says, 
"  Repent  ye,  therefore' — for  no  sentimental  reasons,  but  on  his- 
torical grounds — on  the  ground  of  the  ancient  dealings  of  God 
with  his  people,  and  because  of  the  culmination  of  those  dealings 
in  the  recovery  of  the.  man  who  is  standing  there,  the  living  proof 
of  an  undisputed  miracle. 

Then,  after  his  wont,  Peter's  speech  proceeds  like  a  deep,  broad 
river — full  of  wisdom,  full  of  thought,  full  of  hope,  full  of  sympa- 
thy, and  he  ends  with  these  warm  words,  "  Unto  you  first  God, 
having  raised  up  his  Son  Jesus,  sent  him  to  bless  you."  Apos- 
tolic preaching  was  tender  ;  apostolic  preaching  touched  the  soul 
of  the  hearer,  the  wound  of  the  spirit,  with  a  most  delicate  hand. 
Apostolic  preaching  was  religious  preaching,  spiritual  preaching, 
personal  preaching,  direct  preaching,  and  it  kept  itself  to  this  one 
theme — the  turning  away  men  from  their  iniquities.  And  because 
it  did  so  it  turned  the  world  upside  down.  Preacher  of  the  Living 
God,  come  back  from  all  intellectual  vagaries,  romances,  and 
dreamings,  and  stand  to  your  one  work  of  accusing  men  of  sins, 
accusing  yourself  first  and  most  deeply,  and  then  revealing  the  liv- 
ing Son  of  God,  who  came  with  one  purpose  only,  the  purpose  of 
blessing  men — not  by  giving  them  new  ideas,  not  by  giving  them 
stolen  comfort,  noLby  tampering  with  their  moral  position,  but  by 


VITAL  BLESSING.  97 


"  turning  away  every  one  of  you  from  his  iniquities."  Blessing 
and  iniquity  never  can  co-exist  in  the  same  heart.  The  iniquity 
must  go,  then  the  blessing  w^ill  come.  The  wickedness  must  de- 
part, and  then  angels  will  hasten  into  the  soul  from  which  it  has 
gone  out.  Leit  us  know,  believe,  and  say  from  time  to  time  with 
frankest  speech  that  no  man  can  really  be  blessed  who  has  not 
been  turned  from  his  iniquities.  Ye  cannot  drink  the  cup  of  God 
and  the  cup  of  devils. 


XL 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  have  come  to  the  waters  of  life.  In  times  that  are 
gone  we  hewed  out  unto  ourselves  cisterns,  broken  cisterns,  that  could 
hold  no  water  ;  but  now  we  have  come  to  the  life-stream.  May  we  drink 
thereof,  and  be  glad  with  exceeding  joy.  Thou  has  made  for  us  wells  in 
the  wilderness,  and  springing  fountains  in  the  desert.  The  river  of  God 
is  full  of  water  :  may  we  now  drink  of  that  living  stream  that  we  may 
never  thirst  again.  Give  unto  us  this  water  with  thine  own  hand  ;  it  will 
be  to  us  the  more  precious  for  thy  touch.  Send  us  not  away  with  a  great 
fire  of  thirst  in  the  heart  ;  but  quench  our  desire,  and  satisfy  our  yearn- 
ing, and  give  us  to  know  how  good  a  thing  it  is  to  wait  upon  the  living 
God.  We  bless  thee  that  we  need  thee  every  day.  Were  we  less  we 
could  do  without  thee  the  better  ;  but  being  what  we  are  we  long  for 
thee.  Our  rest  is  in  thy  peace  ;  our  security  is  in  thine  Almightiness  ; 
and  our  hope  is  in  thy  grace.  Surely,  if  thou  hast  taught  us  to  pray, 
thcu  wilt  reply  Dost  thou  make  the  eye  without  giving  the  light  ?  and 
dost  ihou  form  the  ear  without  supplying  the  wondrous  air  which  plays 
upon  it,  and  brings  through  it  to  the  soul  all  tender  messages  and  glori- 
ous gospels  ?  So,  thou  hast  not  made  the  soul  to  pray  without  having 
first  provided  the  answer.  Thy  reply  is  older  than  our  supplication. 
The  Lamb  was  slain  before  the  sin  was  done.  Was  not  Christ  thy  Son, 
our  Sacrifice  and  Priest,  the  Lamb,  slain  from  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world  !  Is  not  the  Gospel  from  eternity  ?  We  go  back  to  the  eternal 
counsel.  We  stand  in  the  eternal  decree.  Thy  grace  is  older  than  our 
sin.  Thy  Almightiness  is  older  than  our  infirmity.  We  come  to  thee,  in 
the  house  appointed,  to-day,  to  seek  great  things  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  Man,  the  Son  of  God.  We  have  come  to  seek  of  thee 
pardon,  many  pardons,  waves  of  forgiveness,  great  billows  of  pardoning 
love  ;  that  underneath  their  infinite  fulness  our  sin  may  be  lost,  like  a 
stone  in  the  unfathomable  deep.  Jesus  Christ  is  risen  to-day.  This 
morning,  heaven's  gate  is  wide  open.  We  come  to-day,  though  it  be  to 
the  outside  only,  and  look  in  and  say  in  the  name  of  Christ,  "  God  be 
merciful  unto  us,  sinners."  Thou  lovest  sinners.  Thou,  Jesus,  didst  go 
in  to  sinners,  and  eat  with  them.  "  This  man  receiveth  sinners." 
Herein  is  love,  that  Christ  died  for  us  whilst  we  were  yet  sinners.  God 
be  merciful  unto  us,  sinners.  Feed  us  with  the  bread  sent  down  from 
heaven.  Lord,  evermore  give  us  this  bread.  Satisfy  our  hunger  as  well 
as  our  thirst.     May -we  obey  thine  injunction,  inspired  by  thy  love,  to  eat 


THE  PR  A  YER. 


99 


and  drink  abundantly  as  the  beloved  of  God.  Lead  us  into  all  truth  ;  de- 
liver us  from  all  narrowness  of  thought  and  all  bigotry  of  feeling,  and  set 
us  in  the  infinite  spaces  ;  and  give  us  to  know  the  range  and  compass  of 
the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.  Fill  us  with  Christian  love.  De- 
stroy all  self-trust  and  self-idolatry  ;  and  give  us  to  feel  that  every  man  is 
thy  child,  and  that  the  more  he  is  lost  the  greater  is  the  anxiety  of  thy 
love  concerning  him.  Deliver  us  from  any  feeling  of  contempt  for  any 
living  creature.  May  we  take  Christ's  view  of  every  soul  ;  and  if  we 
have  lost  but  one  out  of  ten,  but  one  out  of  a  hundred,  may  we  sweep  the 
house  diligently  until  we  find  the  tenth  piece,  and  leave  all  that  is  secure 
at  home  to  find  the  hundredth  sheep  wandering  among  the  barren  rocks. 
Send  out  the  light  of  thy  truth  this  day  like  a  new  flame  of  glory.  May 
the  nations  behold  it,  and  wonder  and  adore.  May  the  human  mind  be 
arrested  by  a  new  revelation  of  the  beauty  that  is  in  Christ.  May  thy 
preachers  pronounce  his  name  with  a  new  accent,  though  with  the  old 
feeling  of  reverence,  and  awe,  and  love.  May  thy  servants  this  day  utter 
the  name  and  title  of  Jesus  as  they  were  never  uttered  before  since  the 
days  of  the  Pentecost.  We  love  Jesus.  He  is  more  to  us  every  day. 
Every  day  we  take  to  him  gold,  and  frankincense,  and  myrrh  ;  now,  may 
we  take  to  him  our  life  and  our  life's  life,  and  have  nothing  in  us  on 
which  his  claiming  hand  doth  not  rest.  Grant  Sabbatic  peace  to  every 
soul.  Still  the  tumult  and  the  uproar  of  the  world's  busy  week.  Cleanse 
the  ear  from  all  the  vulgar  noise  of  life's  common  thoroughfare,  and  fill 
the  hearing  ear  with  the  music  of  another  world.  Touch  the  wound  no 
hand  of  ours  may  approach.  Whisper  to  the  weak,  and  suffering,  and 
dying.  Make  the  place  of  sorrow  thy  chosen  sanctuary.  Where  the 
darkness  is  very  great  do  thou  set  thy  largest  star.  Bless  the  child  at 
school,  and  may  knowledge  be  turned  into  wisdom.  Travel  with  the 
traveller,  and  give  him  favoring  winds,  and  open  roads,  and  bring  him  to 
his  desired  place.  Speak  to  the  soldier  and  the  sailor  of  a  higher  bold- 
ness and  a  diviner  heroism  than  can  be  known  in  human  relations.  Speak 
to  the  prisoner  in  his  solitude,  and  may  his  very  heart  cry  unto  God  for 
the  pardon  of  his  sin.  Put  thine  arms  around  us  all,  the  everlasting 
arms,  and  give  us  to  feel  their  inviolable  security.     Amen. 

Acts  iv.  1-30. 

1.  And  as  they  spake  unto  the  people,  the  priests,  and  the  captain  of 
the  temple  [the  chief  agents  in  our  Lord's  condemnation],  and  the  Sad- 
ducees  [the  higher  members  of  the  priesthood],  came  upon  them, 

2.  Being  grieved  [expressive  of  intensity  of  trouble  and  vexation]  that 
they  taught  the  people,  and  preached  through  \\\X.^x^X\.y,  pyeached  in  Jesus\ 
Jesus  the  resurrection  from  the  dead. 

3.  And  they  laid  hands  on  them,  and  put  them  in  hold  [in  custody] 
unto  the  next  day  :  for  it  was  now  eventide  [6  p.m.]. 

4.  Hovvbeit  many  of  them  which  heard  the  word  believed  ;  and  the 
number  of  the  men  was  about  five  thousand. 


loo  ACTS  IV.  1-30. 


5.  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  morrow,  that  their  rulers,  and  elders, 
and  scribes, 

6.  And  Annas  the  high  priest,  and  Caiaphas,  and  John,  and  Alexander 
[the  probable  conveners  of  the  meeting],  and  as  many  as  were  of  the 
kindred  of  the  high  priest,  were  gathered  together  at  Jerusalem. 

7.  And  when  they  had  set  them  in  the  midst  [the  Sanhedrim  sat  in  a 
semicircle,  the  president  being  in  the  middle  of  the  arc  and  the  accused 
standing  in  the  centre],  they  asked  [apparently  in  a  tone  of  contempt]. 
By  what  power,  or  by  what  name,  have  ye  done  this  ? 

8.  Then  Peter,  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  [the  tense  implies  a  sudden 
inspiration],  said  unto  them.  Ye  rulers  of  the  people,  and  elders  of  Israel. 

9.  If  we  this  day  be  examined  of  the  good  deed  done  to  the  impotent 
man,  by  what  means  he  [the  pronoun  implies  the  presence  of  the  man]  is 
made  whole  ; 

ID.  Be  it  known-unto  you  all,  and  to  all  the  people  of  Israel,  that  by 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  whom  ye  crucified,  whom  God 
raised  from  the  dead,  even  by  him  doth  this  man  stand  here  before  you 
whole. 

11.  This  is  the  stone  which  was  set  at  nought  of  you  builders,  which  is 
become  the  head  of  the  corner. 

12.  Neither  is  there  salvation  [the  Greek  has  the  article — the  salvation] 
in  any  other  :  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved. 

13.  Now  when  they  saw  the  boldness  of  Peter  and  John,  and  perceived 
that  ihey  were  unlearned  [unlettered]  and  ignorant  [common]  men,  they 
marvelled  ;  and  they  took  knowledge  [they  began  to  recognize]  of  them, 
that  ihcy  had  been  with  Jesus. 

14.  And  beholding  the  man  which  was  healed  standing  with  them, 
they  could  say  nothing  against  it. 

15.  But  when  they  had  commanded  them  to  go  aside  out  of  the  council, 
they  conferred  among  themselves, 

16.  Saying,  What  shall  we  do  to  these  men  ?  for  that  indeed  a  notable 
miracle  [sign]  hath  been  done  by  them  is  manifest  to  all  them  that  dwell 
in  Jerusalem  ;  and  we  cannot  deny  it. 

17.  But  that  it  spread  no  further  among  the  people,  let  us  straitly 
threaten  them  [Gr.  :  let  us  threaten  them  with  threats],  that  they  speak 
henceforth  to  no  man  in  this  name. 

18.  And  they  called  them,  and  commanded  them  not  to  speak  at  all 
[Gr.  :  absolutely  not  to  utter]  nor  teach  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 

19.  But  Peter  and  John  answered  and  said  unto  them.  Whether  it  be 
right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken  unto  you  more  than  unto  God, 
judge  ye. 

20.  For  we  cannot  but  speak  the  things  which  we  have  seen  and  heard. 

21.  So  when  ihcy  had  further  threatened  them,  they  let  them  go,  find- 
ing nothing  how  they  might  punish  them,  because  of  the  people  :  for  all 
men  glorified  God  for  that  which  was  done. 


THE  LOGIC  OF  EVENTS.  loi 

22.  For  the  man  was  above  forty  years  old  [precision  characteristic  of 
Luke],  on  whom  this  miracle  of  healing  was  shewed. 

23.  And  being  let  go,  they  went  to  their  own  company  [their  own  peo- 
ple] and  reported  all  that  the  chief  priests  and  elders  had  said  unto  them. 

24.  And  when  they  heard  that,  they  lifted  up  their  voice  to  God  with 
one  accord,  and  said.  Lord  [not  Kyrios,  but  Despotes],  thou  art  God, 
which  hast  made  heaven,  and  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is  : 

25.  Who  by  the  mouth  of  thy  servant  David  hast  said,  Why  did  the 
heathen  rage,  and  the  people  imagine  vain  things  ? 

26.  The  kings  of  the  earth  stood  up,  and  the  rulers  were  gathered  to- 
gether against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  Christ. 

27.  For  of  a  truth  against  thy  holy  child  Jesus,  whom  thou  hast 
anointed,  both  Herod  [Luke  alone  recorded  Herod's  share  in  the  proceed- 
ings connected  with  the  crucifixion],  and  Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  the  people  of  Israel,  were  gathered  together, 

28.  For  to  do  whatsoever  thy  hand  and  thy  counsel  determined  before 
to  be  done. 

29.  And  now,  Lord,  behold  their  threatenings  :  and  grant  unto  thy  ser- 
vants, that  with  all  boldness  they  may  speak  thy  word. 

30.  By  stretching  forth  thine  hand  to  heal  ;  and  that  signs  and  wonders 
may  be  done  by  the  name  of  thy  holy  child  Jesus. 

TEACHING  AND   PERSECUTION. 

NOT  only  did  Peter  and  John  cure  the  lame  man,  which 
would  have  been  an  incident  hardly  worth  recording,  they 
proceeded  to  ' '  ieach  the  people, ' '  and  to  ' '  preach,  through  Jesus, 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  Herein  was  their  greatest  fault  in 
the  eyes  of  the  rulers  of  the  Jews.  Christianity  is  a  leaching  relig- 
ion. Christianity  seeks  out  the  people,  all  the  people,  and  speaks 
the  common  popular  tongue.  The  speech  of  Christianity  is  the 
universal  speech.  It  is  just  here  that  preachers  may  learn  their 
most  useful  lesson.  Our  danger  is  that  we  speak  to  classes  of  men 
— the  educated,  the  polite,  the  discerning.  The  Apostles  never 
spoke  to  any  particular  class  of  men  exclusively.  They  taught  the 
people.  We  can  never  get  back  to  that  universal  speech  unless 
those  of  you  who  are  educated  and  highly  refined  will  support  us 
in  that  missionary  attempt.  You  must  be  content  to  be  partially 
neglected  in  so  far  as  intellectual  luxuries  are  concerned,  and  must 
assist  us  in  providing  good  wholesome  bread  for  the  common  peo- 
ple. That  is  your  duty  to-day.  "  Except  a  man  deny  himself  he 
cannot  be  Christ's  disciple."     Except  a  man  can  sit  in  his  pew  and 


ACTS  IV.  1-30. 


say,  "  I  would  rather  hear  the  common  speech,  the  great,  broad, 
universal  speech,  than  any  merely  class  address, ' '  he  cannot  be 
Christ's  disciple. 

The  Apostles  then,  we  see,  in  the  first  instance,  taught  the  peo- 
ple ;  they  did  not  ask  for  any  particular  class  of  the  people,  did 
not  speak  what  may  be  termed  an  eclectic  gospel  to  a  chosen  few. 
Their  words  were  so  simple  that  they  could  pour  them  upon  the 
common  winds,  and  let  the  breath  of  heaven  carry  those  living 
words  everywhere.  See  that  ye  be  not  hinderers  of  this  Gospel  by 
your  love  of  luxuries.  The  Gospel  is  not  a  luxurj^  it  is  bread  ;  it 
is  water  ;  it  is  a  common  speech  to  every  soul  that  lives.  The 
rulers  of  the  Jews  were  grieved  that  they  taught  the  people.  That 
is  precisely  the  difference  between  Christianity  and  every  other  re- 
ligion. Other  religions  say,  "  Keep  the  people  in  the  dark." 
Christianity  says,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gos- 
pel to  every  creature."  Other  religions  draw  a  screen,  as  Pythag- 
oras lectured  from  behind  a  curtain  to  his  disciples  ;  and  from 
behind  the  screen  they  mutter  their  unintelligible  incantations. 
Christianity  lifts  its  red  banner,  throws  it  out  upon  the  willing 
wind,  and  on  it  is  written,  "  This  thing  was  not  done  in  a  cor- 
ner." By  the  compass  of  its  mission  ;  by  the  universality  of  its 
speech  ;  by  its  chivalry  of  philanthropy,  I  ask  you  to  adjudge  to 
Christianity  the  palm  above  all  the  religions  of  the  world.  Other 
religions  are  philosophies  philosophies  only  ;  Christianity  is  a  gospel 
as  well. 

A  very  marvellous  thing  occurs  here,  in  a  kind  of  parenthesis  ; 
Peter  and  John  had  been  speaking  to  the  people.  The  rulers  of 
the  Jews  were  grieved  by  this  popular  movement  ;  and  they  laid 
their  hands  on  the  Apostles  and  put  them  in  prison  until  the  next 
day.  "  Howbeit"  ! — God  has  his  finger  in  this  !  He  comes 
through  very  narrow  spaces,  and  seizes  very  transient  opportuni- 
ties. A  moment  is  to  him  as  eternity.  "  Howbeit," — wait  there 
a  while  to  get  the  full  rush  of  this  glorious  announcement — 
"many  of  them  which  heard  the  Word  BELIEVED."  Why 
should  not  that  be  the  case  nono,  so  that  whatever  may  happen  to 
the  preacher  within  the  next  hour  he  may  know,  as  he  goes  to  his 
account,  that  he  has  left  behind  him  a  harvest  before  the  time  ? 
No  man  will  put  the  preacher  in  prison  to-day.  But  he  may 
sicken,  he  may  die;  he  may  lose  his  mental  balance.     In  some  way 


BEFORE  THE  JUDGES.  103 

he  may  be  disabled  from  the  prosecution  of  his  work,  so  that  the 
eventide  shall  not  find  him  in  his  place.  "  Howbeit,"  the  work 
was  done  in  the  morning.  Though  the  two  Apostles  were  thrust 
into  the  prison  the  number  of  Christians  was  increased. 

Peter  and  John  went  out  to  go  to  the  Temple.  They  did  enter 
the  Temple  ;  but  they  spent  the  night  in  prison.  The  morning 
came,  and  justice  must  be  done.  Let  us  be  present  at  the  inter- 
view. There  were  two  Apostles,  but  as  for  those  who  were  arrayed 
against  them,  we  read  of  them  as  "  rulers,  and  elders,  and  scribes  ; 
and  Annas,  the  high  priest ;  and  Caiaphas,  and  John,  and  Alex- 
ander, and  as  many  as  were  of  the  kindred  of  the  high  priest." 
They  will  outface  the  two  unlearned  and  ignorant  men.  It  was 
easy  for  the  Apostles  to  ask  a  lame  sufferer  to  look  at  them  ;  but 
they  dare  not  ask  this  council  to  look  them  in  the  face.  The 
Apostles  were  set  "  in  the  midst,"  and  this  question  was  hurled 
at  them,  * '  By  what  power,  or  by  what  name,  have  ye  done  this  V ' 
Beware  of  that  point  of  thought  in  which  you  turn  your  religion 
into  a  piece  of  merely  metaphysical  inquiry.  It  is  at  that  point  that 
Christianity  is  often  defeated  in  her  most  beneficent  purposes. 
What  did  the  learned  men  say }  They  wanted  to  go  into  ways 
and  means,  and  to  analyze  what  we  now  call  the  modus  operandi. 
They  wanted  to  turn  this  question  into  a  metaphysical  inquiry. 
Instead  of  accepting  the  man,  the  healed  man,  the  concrete,  posi- 
tive, indisputableyizc/,  they  wanted  to  lure  the  Apostles,  and  those 
who  followed  them,  into  metaphysical  quagmires  and  difficulties. 
Preachers  of  the  living  Word,  do  not  allow  yourselves  to  answer 
the  "  why"  and  the  "  how"  of  merely  inquisitive  minds.  Have 
the  man  himself  with  you,  and  let  him  be  your  argument.  Chris- 
tianity rests  0x1  facts,  not  upon  opinions.  If  the  Church  of  Christ, 
in  any  part  of  the  world,  has  not  the  Man  with  it,  any  amount  of 
mere  philosophical  theorizing  and  speculation  will  do  harm  rather 
than  good.  Where  is  the  man  you  have  saved  ?  Produce  him. 
Where  are  the  hungry  you  have  fed,  the  ignorant  you  have  in- 
structed, the  enslaved  you  have  emancipated  ?  Produce  them. 
This  is  a  fact,  not  a  quibble.  The  question  seems  to  be  very 
easy,  and  very  rational,  "  By  what  power,  or  by  what  name,  have 
ye  done  this  T'  yet  that  question  was  a  mischievous  one.  It  was 
a  bait ;  it  was  a  mean  decoy.  The  one  true  question  was, 
"  Where  is  the  healed  man  .?     Let  him  walk  before  us.     We  have 


I04  ACTS  IV.  1-30. 


heard  of  him  walking,  and  leaping,  and  entering  into  the  Temple 
with  you  ;  let  us  see  him  do  this  now. ' '  That  would  have  been  a 
fair  challenge  ;  and  having  seen  the  once  lame  man  walking,  and 
leaping,  and  entering  into  the  Temple,  they  should  have  said,  By 
whatever  means  it  is  done  the  effect  is  certain,  and  the  cause  of 
such  an  effect  must  itself  be  good. 

Peter  and  John  will  surely  stammer  before  this  glittering  assem- 
bly !  The  maid  that  taunted  the  rough-spoken  Galilaean  was  too 
much  for  Peter  ;  when  he  sees  Annas,  and  Caiaphas,  and  John, 
and  Alexander,  there  will  be  no  spirit  left  in  him  !  How  does  the 
narrative  read  ?  With  one  explanatory  clause — "  Then  Peter, 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  That  is  a  thousand  Peters  :  Peter 
multiplied  by  the  very  Deity.  Peter  ? — a  straw  blown  away  by  the 
mocking  wind,  by  himself.  But  Peter  "  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost"  was  a  man  of  war,  a  mighty  captain,  a  soldier  not  to  be 
put  down  ;  clothed  with  heavenly  panoply,  eloquent  with  heaven's 
thunder,  gracious  with  heaven's  love. 

Have  we  received  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  The  question  is  not,  "  Are 
we  well  trained  intellectually  ?"  "  Have  we  read  many  books  .?" 
"  Are  we  able  to  conduct  very  subtle  arguments.?"  The  plain, 
soul-piercing  question  is,  "  Have  we  received  the  HOLY 
GHOST?"  We  shall  know  whether  we  have  received  the  Spirit 
by  the  _/fr^  that  is  in  us.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  fire.  The  difference 
between  one  man  and  another  is  a  difference  of  lire.  The  great 
healers  in  the  universe  are  fire  and  water  ;  if  a  man  cannot  be 
healed  by  these  he  cannot  be  healed  at  all.  We  have  received  the 
first  baptism,  we  have  (to  use  popular  language)  been  "  christ- 
ened," Christ-named,  christianized  in  the  sense  of  having  been 
brought  to  the  church,  and  had  the  initial  water  sprinkled  upon 
our  smooth  forehead  ;  but  have  we  received  the  Holy  Ghost  ? 
There  is  no  mistaking  him  1  No  man  can  mistake  the  sunlight 
for  any  meaner  flame.  That  great  noontide  glory  comes  with  a 
compass  and  with  a  splendor  that  leave  no  doubt- as  to  its  origin. 
Peter  having  been  challenged  to  give  an  account  of  the  circum- 
stance made  the  eloquent  reply  which  you  find  within  verses  9  to 
12  inclusive.  He  never  was  more  eloquent.  Whenever  Peter 
spake  suddctily,  on  great  subjects,  he  spake  the  very  heart  of  God. 
He  once  took  Christ  Himself  by  surprise  in  this  matter.  "  Whom 
say  ye  that  I  am  ?''     Peter  answered,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 


THE  FULL  TITLE  OF  CHRIST.  105 

Son  of  the  living  God. ' '  Challenged  by  the  rulers  of  the  Jews 
upon  the  occasion  now  before  us,  he  made  an  answer  equal  in 
splendour  to  his  earlier  reply.  How  much  he  makes  of  Christ  in 
the  loth  verse  !  We  seem  hardly  to  have  heard  the  whole  style 
and  title  of  Jesus  before.  We  have  them  here.  We  have  called 
the  Saviour  "Jesus;"  sometimes  we  have  called  him  "Jesus 
Christ,"  By  some  short  indication  of  this  kind  we  have  made 
reference  to  the  Redeemer.  But  how  seldom  have  we  given  Him 
His  full  style  and  title  !  Listen  to  Peter  as  he  says — "  Jesus  Christ 
of  Nazareth,  whom  ye  crucified,  whom  God  raised  from  the  dead, 
even  by  him, ' '  There  is  no  mistaking  that  address.  The  name, 
the  address,  the  traigedy,  the  resurrection,  and  the  "  even  by 
HIM,"  the  last  thrilling  emphasis  that  crowded  into  itself  the  pas- 
sion of  the  entire  reference  !  What  Christ  do  you  preach  }  We 
have  heard  of  the  Christ  of  the  painter — a  figure  tenderly  coloured, 
set  in  wondrous  lights  and  shades.  We  have  stood  before  it,  and 
sometimes  we  have  thrilled  in  its  presence,  and  felt  the  waters 
stealing  into  our  eyes.  But  that  Christ  never  saved  the  soul,  it  is 
only  a  creation  of  art.  We  have  heard  of  the  Christ  of  the  poet, 
Christ  has  been  spoken  of  in  flowing  rhyme  and  stately  blank 
verse  ;  but  that  Christ  never  came  from  the  intellect  into  the 
depths  of  the  heart,  to  save  that  heart  in  its  deadliest  remorse  on 
account  of  sin.  We  must  go  back  to  the  apostolic  Christ  if  we  have 
to  realize  apostolic  conceptions  and  to  win  apostolic  successes  in 
the  ministry.  I  will  read  the  full  style  and  title  again — ' 'Jesus" 
— "  Jesus  Chrisl" — "  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth! '  —  "Jesus  Christ  of 
Nazareth,  whom  ye  crucified," — "  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  whom 
ye  crucified,  whovi  God  raised  from  the  dead."  They  could  not 
say  after  that ' '  To  what  Christ  does  he  refer  ?  Of  what  Jesus  does 
bespeak.?" — the  name,  the  place,  the  crucifixion,  the  resurrec- 
tion :  all  re-afl!irmed.  There  was  no  escape  from  that  description. 
Is  it  not  possible  for  us  to  escape  from  many  a  Christ  that  is  7iaw 
preached  }  The  Christ  we  want  is  a  Saviour  :  a  man  who  knows 
us,  loves  us,  dies  for  us,  rises  again  and  intercedes  for  us,  who  came 
out  of  eternity,  who  has  passed  into  eternity,  and  whose  one 
thought  is  to  SAVE  THE  WORLD  ! 

Peter  might  well  have  ended  by  the  statement  contained  in  the 
loth  verse,  but  Peter  often  found  it  difficult  to  conclude  when 
Christ  was  the  theme.      How  can  a  river  end  except  in  the  sea  ? 


io6  ACTS  IV.  1-30. 


The  little  pool,  the  purling  rill,  soon  sinks  in  the  sand  ;  but  the 
river, — deep,  broad,  fluent — moves  on  through  channelled  rocks 
and  shady  woods,  on,  on  to  the  solemn  sea  !  Peter  went  onward. 
Said  he,  "  This  is  the  stone  which  was  set  at  nought  by  you 
builders,  which  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner. "  The  place 
trembled  under  the  vibration  of  that  living  voice  !  He  might  have 
ended  there  ;  but  it  was  difficult,  let  us  repeat,  for  Peter  ever  to 
end  when  Christ  was  the  theme.  So  he  continued,  "  Neither  is 
there  salvation  in  any  other,  for  there  is  none  other  name  under 
heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  Peter 
could  never  fall  again  !  There  are  some  speeches  that  are  crises  in 
a  man's  history.  Surely  after  such  eloquence  he  could  never  fall 
into  the  commonplace  of  ordinary  speech.  And  he  never  did. 
Tradition,  truly  or  untruly,  I  care  not  which,  brings  Peter  to 
the  cross  that  he  may  be  crucified,  head  downwards.  They  did 
not  crucify  Pekr ;  they  only  crucified  his  Jlesh.  When  we  are 
"  filhd  with  the  Holy  Ghost"  we  know  not  the  puncture  of  iron 
or  the  sting  of  fire. 

The  original  question  was  not  one  of  salvation,  it  was  merely  a 
question  of  healing  a  lame  man.  But  you  never  find  the  Apo.stles 
confining  themselves  to  the  mere  incident.  Every  miracle  is  only  a 
text  ;  every  sign  or  token  is  only  a  starting-point.  Let  an  Apostle 
heal  a  man's  ankle-bones,  and  from  those  ankle-bones  he  swings 
clear  off  to  Christ's  world-saving  Cross.  Sometimes  we  find  it 
difficult  to  move  from  our  Old  Testament  text  to  our  New  Testa- 
ment gospel  ;  the  Apostles  never  experienced  such  a  difficulty.  At 
one  step  they  passed  over  to  the  Cross  and  said,  ' '  If  we  have  given 
you  bread  for  the  body,  we  meant  it  to  be  typical  of  the  bread 
which  endureth  unto  everlasting  life.  If  we  have  healed  your 
ankle-bones,  we  meant  it  to  be  symbolic  of  the  greater  healing  of 
your  soul.  If  we  have  opened  the  eyes  of  the  body,  we  meant  it 
but  as  an  initial  act  realizing  its  fruition  in  the  illumination  of  the 
spirit  and  the  whole  inner  man."  See  how  grandly  Peter  stands 
above  the  occasion  !  He  was  not  a  mere  healer  of  ankle-bones  ; 
he  was,  in  the  Almightiness  of  God,  a  healer  of  souls.  Can  I  by 
the  same  Almightiness  he3.\  your  souls.?  Hear  Christ's  words, 
"  Come  unto  Me  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest. ' ' 


THE  APPEAL  TO  RIGHT.  107 

Now,  it  was  the  turn  of  the  Sanhedrim  to  be  shut  up  and  put 
•'  in  hold  unto  the  next  day,"  and  every  day  after  that !  When 
they  saw  the  boldness  of  Peter  and  John,  and  perceived  that  they 
had  a  provincial  accent  in  their  speech,  and  talked  like  two  intelli- 
gent fishermen  only,  "  they  marvelled."  May  every  other  Sanhe- 
drim marvel  about  you  young  preachers  just  in  the  same  way  !  If 
there  is  not  a  peculiarity  in  your  speech,  if  there  is  not  a  disparity 
between  you  and  your  speech,  you  can  be  accounted  for  :  and 
any  man  that  can  be  accounted  for  will  never  influence  his  age. 
He  will  make  a  splash  in  the  pool  ;  but  the  bubbles  will  be  seen 
a  moment,  then  will  sink  for  ever.  You  never  can  make  out  the 
secret  of  a  Whitefield.  You  never  can  make  out  the  secret  power 
of  any  man  who  makes  a  whole  world  hear  him.  If  you  could 
accoimi  for  him  you  would  be  as  great  as  he  is.  What  then  did 
the  wise  and  influential  Jews  do  ?  I  can  but  smile  when  I  hear 
them  muttering  and  whispering,  "  But  that  it  spread  no  further 
among  the  people  let  us  straitly"  (strictly  and  sharply)  "  threaten 
them.''  You  feel  the  difference  of  the  climate,  do  you  not.?  the 
difference  of  temperature  between  verses  11  and  12,  and  verses  16, 
17,  and  18  .?  The  apostles  were  THREATENED  !  They  must 
not  speak  any  more  !  There  must  be  an  end  of  this  nuisance. 
Society  is  not  to  be  disturbed  by  such  propagandists.  Peter,  hav- 
ing heard  the  threatening,  said  unto  them,  "  Whether  it  be 
RIGHT."  ....  That  is  the  word  that  makes  history! 
"Whether  it  be  RIGHT."  That  is  the  word  that  thrills  the 
ages  !  Whether  it  be  RIGHT  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken 
unto  you  more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye }  Ye  are  judges  and 
learned  men.  Judge  ye.  For  we  cannot  but  speak  the  things 
which  we  have  seen  and  heard."  And  the  Apostles  having 
received  this  threatening,  "  went  to  their  own  company,  and  re- 
ported all  that  the  chief  priests  and  elders  had  said  unto  them." 
What  a  talk  they  had  ;  How  they  reminded  one  another  of  the 
occasion  of  the  movement  !  And  when  the  company  had  heard  it 
all,  "  they  lifted  up  their  voice  to  God  with  one  accord,  and  said 
.  .  .  . ' '  They  too  became  eloquent,  sublime  in  speech  :  they 
quoted  the  second  Psalm.  "  Why  do  the  heathen  rage,  and  the 
people  imagine  a  vain  thing.'"  And  when  they  had  prayed,  the 
place  was  shaken  where  they  were  assembled  together  ;  and  they 


io8  ACTS  IV.  1-30. 


were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  Pentecost  after  Pentecost  I 
Poor  Church  !  Thou  hast  fallen  upon  empty  times.  They  are 
but  mean  challenges  that  are  addressed  to  us  now.  If  we  could 
be  once  more  threatened  with  the  prison  and  the  stake,  the  rod  of 
iron  and  the  keen  double-edged  weapon,  some  of  us  might  be 
heroes.     At  present  we  may  be  but  common  clay  1 


XII. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  have  heard  that  power  belongeth  unto  thee,  and 
we  are  afraid  :  we  have  also  heard  that  mercy  belongeth  unto  thee,  and 
we  are  no  longer  under  the  bondage  of  fear.  We  come  to  thy  mercy  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  we  have  no  dread,  but  an  inspiring  and  indestructible 
joy.  We  are  all  prodigals.  We  come  to-day  from  a  far  country,  and  we 
bring  back  nothing  with  us  but  hunger,  and  shame,  and  nakedness,  and 
self-reproach.  God  be  merciful  unto  us,  sinners.  Thy  Church  was  built 
for  sinners.  We  did  not  know  thee  until  we  sinned.  Through  our  guilt 
thou  dost  cause  to  come  the  brightest  revelations  of  thyself.  Thou  shalt 
yet  make  sin  help  heaven.  Out  of  this  root  of  poison  thou  wilt  gather 
wondrous  fruits  of  health.  We  know  not  how  this  thy  great  miracle  will 
be  wrought  ;  but  we  know  thou  wilt  make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
thee  ;  and  the  remainder  thou  wilt  hold  at  arm's  length.  The  Lord 
reigneth  ;  the  God  of  Salvation  holds  the  universe  in  his  grasp.  Thou 
dost  not  delight  in  destruction,  but  in  salvation  :  thy  purpose  is  to  abolish 
death  and  make  the  universe  glad  with  spiritual  life.  In  this  confidence 
we  always  come  near  thee.  Great  waves  of  love  rise  in  our  hearts,  and 
would  find  expression  in  fitting  words  ;  but  they  cannot.  We  are  dumb 
before  thee.  Our  very  speech  is  but  a  mockery  of  our  want.  Our  hymn, 
though  it  swell  loudly  and  tremble  with  all  pathos,  cannot  tell  thee  our 
praise.  Thou  hast  made  no  speech,  nor  song,  for  the  higher  emotions  of 
the  soul  ;  but,  when  we  come  to  the  better  land,  and  learn  inspired  speech 
and  larger  music,  we  will  bless  thee  fitly. 

Take  care  of  us  whilst  we  are  in  the  desert.  There  is  no  path  here  but 
of  thine  own  making.  Keep  us  close  to  one  another,  lest  we  lose  the 
touch  of  sympathy  and  the  voice  of  communion,  and  be  lost  amid  the  un- 
measured sand.  Lead  us  over  the  rocks  when  they  are  sharp  and  slip- 
pery. Take  us  up  awhile  into  thine  own  heart,  and  carry  us  until  we 
may  be  trusted  to  walk  again.  Leave  us  not,  neither  forsake  us.  We  go 
to  the  graves  of  the  past,  the  green  hillocks,  the  eloquent  churchyards, 
thine  own  acre,  O  God  of  the  living,  and  by  all  the  providence  of  history, 
by  all  the  gentle  care  of  individuals  and  families  which  thou  hast  exer- 
cised, we  revive  and  strengthen  and  consolidate  our  faith  in  God.  We 
bless  thee  for  all  the  love  which  makes  our  life  rich.  Thou  dost  live  for 
us.  Thou  didst  so  love  the  world  as  to  give  thy  Son  to  die  for  it,  and 
cleanse  it  with  his  own  blood.  Thou  dost  give  him  every  day  to  die  for 
us,  and  every  day  does  he  rise  again,  and  all  the  while  is  his  prayer  heard 


ACTS  IV.  31-37;    V.  I- 


in  heaven.  Therefore  do  we  stand  in  thy  church  lo-day  redeemed  by 
his  blood,  and  secured  by  thy  grace. 

As  families  we  bless  thee.  All  the  dear  little  children  clasp  their  hands 
and  look  up,  though  they  know  not  what  to  say  ;  their  look  is  better  than 
their  speech.  And  all  the  elder  ones,  to  whom  life  is  a  vanishing  dream, 
muse,  and  wonder,  and  hope,  and  now  and  again  thrill  with  an  expectation 
that  cannot  be  uttered  m  words.  And  busy  men  thank  God  for  the  bread 
that  is  in  both  hands.  The  afflicted  look  to  thee  ;  and  the  sad  in  heart 
have  no  helper  but  thyself  ;  and  the  lost  turn  round  and  look  for  the 
light.  The  Lord  send  it  to  shine  upon  them,  and  may  they  be  brought 
home  every  one. 

God  save  the  Queen.  Guard  her  person  ;  defend  her  throne  ;  prolong 
her  reign.  We  bless  thee  for  her  escape  from  danger  ;  for  she  has  done 
us  good  and  not  evil  all  the  days  of  her  life.  The  Lord  crown  her  with 
fine  gold,  and  fill  her  diadem  with  jewels  of  his  own  finding. 

Lord,  regard  all  the  little  earth  :  to  us  so  great  :  to  thee  but  a  handful 
of  dust.  We  have  marked  it  out  into  continents  and  nations,  and  have 
broken  up  its  speech  into  many  tongues  ;  but  all  the  earth  is  thine,  and 
the  fulness  thereof  ;  and  thou  art  Lord  of  the  sea.  Still  keep  the  little 
earth  in  its  right  place,  and  whilst  it  swings  around  the  sun  may  its  human 
multitudes  revolve  around  the  sun  of  righteousness  and  catch  from  him 
all  life,  and  light,  and  joy.     Amen. 

Acts  iv.  31-37. 

31.  And  when  they  had  prayed,  the  place  was  shaken  [pointing  to  the 
God  of  nature]  where  they  were  assembled  together  ;  and  they  were  all 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they  spake  the  word  of  God  with  bold- 
ness. 

32.  And  the  multitude  of  them  that  believed  were  of  one  heart  and  of 
one  soul  [Jer.  xxxii.  29]  :  neither  said  any  of  them  [the  Greek  is  em- 
phatic, and  710 1  one  0/  them  said]  that  aught  of  the  things  which  he  pos- 
sessed was  his  own  ;  but  they  had  all  things  common. 

33.  And  with  great  power  gave  the  apostles  [there  the  Greek  verb  ^^ave 
implies  much  more  than  the  English  word.  It  is  constantly  used  for  pay- 
ing a  debt,  or  rendering  an  account']  witness  of  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  :  and  great  grace  was  upon  them  all. 

34.  Neither  was  there  any  among  them  that  lacked  :  for  as  many  as  were 
possessors  of  lands  or  houses  sold  them,  and  brought  the  prices  of  the 
things  that  were  sold  [we  never  hear  that  a  similar  fund  was  established 
except  at  Jerusalem], 

35.  And  laid  them  down  at  the  apostles'  feet  [when  gifts  or  offerings 
are  made  to  an  eastern  king  or  priest,  they  are  not  placed  in  his  hands 
but  at  his  feet]  :  and  distribution  was  made  unto  every  man  according  as 
he  had  need. 

36.  And  Joses  [Joseph],  who  by  the  apostles  was  surnamed  Barnabas, 


THE  TEXT. 


(which  is,  being  interpreted,  The  son  of  consolation)  a  Levite  [he  may- 
have  held  lands  from  his  marriage],  and  of  the  country  of  Cyprus  [in  the 
Eastern  Mediterranean], 

37.  Having  land  [lit.,  2.Jield'\  sold  it,  and  brought  the  money,  and  laid 
it  at  the  apostles'  feet. 

Chap.  V.  1-11. 

1.  But  [much  stress  is  not  to  be  laid  on  the  word  But,  for  no  contrast 
is  mtended]  a  certain  man  named  Ananias,  with  Sapphira  his  wife,  sold  a 
possession  [the  same  word  is  used  Matt.  xix.  22], 

2.  And  kept  back  part  of  the  price,  his  wife  also  being  privy  to  it  [an 
aggravated  offence],  and  brought  a  certain  part,  and  laid  it  at  the  apos- 
tles' feet. 

3.  But  Peter  said,  Ananias,  why  hath  Satan  filled  thine  heart  [made 
thee  bold  enough]  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to  keep  back  part  of  the 
price  of  the  land  ? 

4.  Whiles  it  remained,  was  it  not  thine  own  ?  and  after  it  was  sold,  was 
It  not  in  thine  own  power?  why  hast  thou  conceived  [implying  long  and 
deep  deliberation]  this  thing  in  thine  heart  t  thou  hast  not  lied  unto  men, 
but  unto  God. 

5.  And  Ananias  hearing  these  words  fell  down,  and  gave  up  the  ghost : 
and  great  fear  came  on  all  them  that  heard  these  things. 

6.  And  the  young  [younger]  men  arose,  wound  him  up,  and  carried 
him  out,  and  buried  him  [it  was  common  to  have  graves  ready  before- 
hand]. 

7.  And  it  was  about  the  space  of  three  hours  after,  when  his  wife,  not 
knowing  what  was  done,  came  in. 

8.  And  Peter  answered  [yet  not  an  answer  but  a  question]  unto  her. 
Tell  me  whether  ye  sold  the  land  for  so  much  ?  And  she  said.  Yea,  for 
so  much  [and  no  more]. 

9.  Then  Peter  said  unto  her.  How  is  it  that  ye  have  agreed  together  to 
tempt  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  ?  behold,  the  feet  of  them  which  have  buried 
thy  husband  are  at  the  door,  and  shall  carry  thee  out. 

ID.  Then  fell  she  down  straightway  at  his  feet  [where  the  money  prob- 
ably lay],  and  yielded  up  the  ghost  [an  expression  used  in  one  other  place 
only,  Acts  xii.  23]  :  and  the  young  men  came  in,  and  found  her  dead, 
and,  carrying  her  forth,  buried  her  by  her  husband. 

II.  And  great  fear  came  upon  all  the  church  [assembly  or  congrega- 
tion], and  upon  as  many  as  heard  these  things. 

COMMUNISM  AND  ITS   VIOLATION. 

WE  have  just  seen  what  great  excitement  there  was  outside  the 
Church.     A  lame  man  had  been  healed,  and  Peter  and 
John  had  been  shut  up  in  prison,  and  had  afterwards  been  threat- 


ACTS  IV.  31-37;   V.  i-ir. 


ened  by  the  Sanhedrim.  * '  And  being  let  go,  they  went  to  their 
own  company,  and  reported  all  that  the  chief  priests  and  elders 
had  said  unto  them."  The  Christians,  having  heard  the  report, 
"  lifted  up  their  voice  to  God  with  one  accord,"  and  praised  him, 
and  gave  themselves  into  his  keeping,  saying,  "  And  now,  Lord, 
behold  their  threatenings  ;  and  grant  unto  thy  servants  that  with 
all  boldness  they  may  speak  thy  word.  By  stretching  forth  thine 
hand  to  heal  ;  and  that  signs  and  wonders  may  be  done  by  the 
name  of  thy  holy  child  Jesus. ' '  There  they  left  the  case.  They 
passed  no  official  resolution  amongst  themselves  :  they  looked  up 
unto  the  hills  whence  their  help  came,  and  having  looked  upward, 
and  having  spoken  to  God,  they  waited  for  an  answer  from  heaven. 
That  answer  came  :  ' '  When  they  had  prayed,  the  place  was 
shaken  where  they  were  assembled  together  ;  and  they  were  all 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they  spake  the  word  of  God  with 
boldness."  They  did  not  offer  it  as  a  suggestion,  they  did  not 
submit  it  as  2i  possible  solution  of  great  moral  anxieties  :  they  hurled 
it  across  the  heavens,  they  uttered  it  with  thunder,  they  spake  it 
with  the  accent  of  the  soul.  We  must  go  back  to  that  cordial 
eloquence.  Preachers  of  the  everlasting  Gospel  do  not  stand  up  to 
make  suggestions  :  they  stand  to  deliver  what  they  believe  to  be 
God's  testimony  ;  and  in  proportion  to  their  faith  in  the  Divine 
testimony  will  be  the  clearness  of  their  utterance,  and  the  bold  and 
thrilling  emphasis  of  their  very  voice. 

A  great  practical  issue  immediately  took  effect.  A  new  concep- 
tion of  property  entered  into  the  mind  of  the  Church.  Little 
ownerships,  and  narrow  boundaries  of  individual  claims  and 
primacies,  were  done  away.  "  No  man  said  that  aught  he  had 
was  his  own  ;  they  had  all  things  in  common."  "As  many  as 
were  possessors  of  lands  or  houses  sold  them,  and  brought  the 
price  of  the  things  that  were  sold,  and  laid  them  down  at  the 
Apostles'  feet,  and  distribution  was  made  unto  every  man  accord- 
ing as  he  had  need."  Here  then  are  two  concurrent  movements, 
viz.,  a  spiritual  movement,  and  a  social  movement.  The  social 
movement  arose  out  of  the  spiritual  ;  if  the  cause  go  down,  the 
effect  must  go  down  along  with  it.  The  Church  can  only  do 
great  social  duties,  and  continue  with  constancy  in  great  social 
sacrifices,  in  proportion  as  its  heart  is  continually  inspired  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.     The  hand  cannot  go  without  the  heart.      The  heart 


A  MISSION  TO    THE   CHURCH.  113 

cannot  be  right  without  compelling  the  hand  to  do  its  holy  and 
ennobling  bidding.  It  is  in  vain  to  attempt  to  keep  up  the  out- 
ward when  the  inward  has  given  way.  That  is  precisely  what  we 
are  in  danger  of  doing  now.  We  keep  up  churches,  institutions, 
organizations,  machineries,  after  we  have  lost  the  Spirit  Is  there 
anything  more  ghastly  to  the  religious  eye  and  the  spiritual  imag- 
ination than  a  Church  out  of  which  GOD  has  gone  .?  The  build- 
ing  stands  there  of  undiminished  magnitude,  and  undimmed 
beauty  of  form  and  colour,  and  undiminished  commodiousness  ; 
but  GOD  has  gone.  The  Bible  is  read,  and  ml  read.  It  is  not 
the  Bible  that  the  man  mumbled,  but  a  book  which  he  has  found 
somewhere,  out  of  which  the  Spirit  has  been  driven.  The  very 
self-same  old  hymns  were  sung  that  fifty  years  ago  caused  the 
walls  to  vibrate  as  with  conscious  joy  ;  and  though  the  music  was 
exact  in  technicality,  and  well  performed  as  to  mere  lip  service, 
the  old  passion  was  not  there,  and  the  hymn  rose  to  the  ceiling, 
bruised  itself  against  the  beams  of  the  roof,  and  fell  back,  a  service 
unrecognized  in  heaven.  This  accounts  for  all  the  results  of  sta- 
tistics as  to  attendance  upon  places  of  worship  ;  for  all  the  "  dilap- 
idated husbandry"  of  the  Church  ;  for  all  the  boundless  provision 
of  mere  space,  and  accommodation,  and  machinery,  without  eHcit- 
ing  the  sympathy  and  the  consent  of  the  great  heart  of  man.  We 
have  lost  the  Spirit ;  or  we  have  forgotten  that  there  is  diversity  of 
operation  even  under  the  same  Spirit,  and  we  have  been  trying  to 
maintain  old  economies  without  new  inspiration.  What  has  to 
be  done  .?  Not  to  mend  the  outside,  but  to  fall  to  praying,  and  to 
bring  to  bear  upon  heaven  the  violence  of  our  impatient  necessity, 
and  the  sacred  ambition  of  men,  who  have  found  by  prolonged 
and  bitter  experience  that  all  answers  worth  having  are  to  be  had 
from  heaven  only.  What  is  now  wanted  is  a  mission  to  the  Church. 
It  would  be  well  for  you  if  you  would  be  good  enough  to  let  the 
masses  alone  for  a  while  ;  the  Church  is  now  mad  upon  the 
masses.  Any  proposition  to  go  after  the  "  masses"  is  hailed  with 
delight  by  those  persons  who  do  nothing  but  approve  excellent 
schemes  and  then  leave  them  to  themselves.  The  great  soul  I  cry 
for  is  a  man  who  will  preach  to  i\\Q  preacher  ;  who  will  convert  the 
pulpit ;  who  will  set  fire  to  the  Church,  and  bring  back  our  con- 
scious  need  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  are  orthodox,  but  we  are  not 
Christian.     Our  notiotis  are  in.  excellent  repair,  but  out  love  is  a 


114  ACTS  IF.  31-37;    V.  i-ii. 

dead  angel  in  the  cold  heart.  We  are  sound  in  doctrine,  but  we 
are  bitter  in  speech.  We  are  clever  in  the  arrangement  and  the  re- 
arrangement, and  the  repairing  and  the  re-adaptation  of  machinery  ; 
but  when  we  come  to  pray,  it  is  as  if  a  skeleton  should  open  its 
cold  mouth  and  chatter  with  its  lifeless  teeth. 

We  come  now  upon  a  scene  that  contrasts  with  the  marvellous 
exhibition  of  feeling  we  looked  upon  in  our  last  reading  of  this  ex- 
citing story.  When  persecution  began  to  take  effect  upon  the 
Church  we  trembled — needlessly.  The  Church  needs  persecution. 
Now  we  come  upon  real  danger.  External  persecution  brings  to 
our  memory  the  heroic  words  of  our  heroic  Captain,  ' '  Fear  not 
them  that  kill  the  body,  and  after  that  have  no  more  that  they  can 
do."  Now  we  come  inside  the  Church,  and  it  is  there  and  there 
only,  that  any  deadly  mischief  can  be  done  I  The  Church  !  Fire 
cannot  burn  it,  water  cannot  drown  it,  fiends  cannot  intercept  it ; 
but  it  has  z«  its  own  hand  the  power  of  suicide  !  Annas  and 
Caiaphas,  and  John  and  Alexander,  and  all  the  kindred  of  the 
high  priest,  cannot  touch  the  Church.  They  can  "  threaten"  it, 
and  they  can  denounce  it ;  they  can  for  a  time  imprison  it ;  but 
its  life  they  cannot  touch.  Do  not  fear  the  issue  of  anti-Christian 
literature,  as  if  that  could  do  the  slightest  injury  to  God's  truth. 
There  is  a  secret  fever  amongst  men  as  to  the  answering  of  the 
latest  attack  which  has  been  made  upon  the  Christian  doctrine. 
We  are  not  called  upon  to  answer  the  last  fool  who  has  escaped 
from  the  mortar  in  which  he  was  brayed.  That  is  not  the  work  of 
the  Church  :  it  is  but  an  incidental  service,  and  upon  some  occa- 
sions it  may  be  a  most  valuable  and  indispensable  service  ;  but 
there  is  another  work  to  be  done.  Let  the  Church  put  on  her 
beautiful  garments,  and  she  will  create  a  space  for  herself.  Let 
her  be  pure,  noble,  seen  as  the  angel  of  mercy  and  help  and  hope, 
that  God  meant  her  to  be,  and  all  other  things  will  settle  into  their 
right  courses  and  eventuate  in  their  proper  issues.  Ananias  and 
Sapphira  can  do  more  mischief  in  the  Church  than  all  the  atheists 
that  ever  declared  the  heavens  to  be  an  untenanted  space  !  That 
is  the  truth  that  needs  now  to  be  understood  ;  and  no  other  is,  in 
comparison  with  it,  worthy  of  a  moment's  consideration.  You 
uttered  an  unkind  speech  about  your  brother  :  that  did  more  mis- 
chief than  all  the  atheistic  publications  that  have  been  poured  from 
the  press  of  infidelity  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.     You,  a  preacher, 


THE  NEED    OF  REALITY.  115 

a  student,  a  member  of  the  Church,  a  professor  of  Christianity,  did 
a  mean  trick  :  that  had  a  deadher  effect  than  all  the  denunciation 
possible  to  the  feeble  eloquence  of  unbelief.  The  ' '  BUT  ' '  with 
which  the  fifth  chapter  opens  is  like  a  blow  in  the  face.  We  were 
reading  so  joyously,  passing  on  with  a  step  of  triumph,  and  sud- 
denly an  invisible  but  tremendous  fist  felled  us  to  the  earth.  We 
gloried  in  the  statement  found  in  the  fourth  chapter,  we  smiled  at 
Annas,  Caiaphas,  John,  and  Alexander,  when  they  threatened 
Peter  and  John  :  we  felt  the  infiniteness  of  our  strength,  the  over- 
flow and  redundance  of  power.  Now  that  we  come  to  this  great, 
black  *'  But"  of  the  fifth  chapter,  there  is  no  longer  any  laughter 
in  our  voice  ;  nor  does  mirth  write  its  signature  upon  our  solemn 
faces.  This  is  death.  Ananias  and  Sapphira  endeavoured  to  keep 
up  a  mechanical  enthusiasm,  and  that  is  an  impossibility  in  the 
divine  life.  We  must  here  have  reality.  Some  people  try  to  sing 
in  God's  house  ;  but  if  you  look  at  them  they  are  not  singing  at 
all,  for  their  eyes,  like  fools'  eyes,  are  wandering  all  over  the  con- 
gregation. They  bow  in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  but  all  the  while 
their  eyes  are  upon  vacant  space,  or  upon  the  earth. 

"  .     .     .     God  abhors  the  sacrifice 
Where  not  the  heart  is  found." 

In  Other  places  you  may  have  art,  arrangement,  adaptation  of  part 
to  part ;  but  in  God's  house  the  only  acceptable  order  is  reality. 
You  had  better  be  at  home  than  be  here  without  being  here.  This 
attendance  at  the  altar  may  be  the  crowning  sin  of  a  guilty  life. 
To  have  touched  the  sacred  Book  with  an  irreverent  hand,  to  have 
looked  as  if  you  were  interested,  whilst  all  the  time  your  heart  was 
a  mile  away,  may  be  the  blasphemy  which  outblackens  every  other 
profanity  !  Were  we  all  here  inspired,  do  you  suppose  that  this 
great  city  would  not  soon  know  the  reality  of  our  spiritual  life  .'* 
Could  a  host  of  this  number  be  one  heart,  one  soul,  loyal  to  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  London  never  hear  of  it }  But  ours  may  be 
but  a  mechanical  attendance,  a  respectable  arrangement,  a  repeti- 
tion of  an  approved  custom,  and  may  not  express  the  fire  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  an  inward  and  divine  inspiration.  Do  not  sign  the 
bond  with  your  hand  only,  or  you  will  certainly  break  it.  This 
bond,  Christ's  covenant,  is  to  be  signed  with  the  ink  of  the  heart. 
"  God  will  judge  thee,  thou  whited  sepulchre."     You  had  better 


ii6  ACTS  IV.  31-37;    V.  i-ii. 

curse  and  swear,  and  steal  the  purse  of  the  next  man  you  may  find 
upon  the  high  road,  than  be  in  God's  Church  under  the  preten- 
sion that  such  attendance  expresses  the  uppermost  thought  of  the 
heart,  when  in  reahty  it  expresses  but  a  purpose  to  promote  on  a 
larger  scale  some  selfish  interest.  Judgment  must  begin  at  the 
house  of  God  !  Annas,  and  Caiaphas,  and  John,  and  Alexander, 
heed  not ;  but  watch  Ananias  and  Sapphira  ! 

This  is  a  beautiful  revelation  of  the  life  of  the  early  Church,  in 
so  far  as  it  shows  us  the  entire  voluntariness  of  every  sacrifice  and 
every  service  rendered  by  the  first  Christians.  The  selling  of 
houses  and  lands  was  not  a  compulsory  act.  The  property  be- 
longed to  the  individuals,  they  might  claim  it,  they  might  part 
with  it,  they  might  keep  a  portion  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  :  all 
that  was  wanted  from  them  was  reality.  This  is  the  glory  of  all 
Christian  service,  that  it  is  voluntary,  expressive  of  the  will,  and  of 
the  vital  love  of  the  person  rendering  that  service.  This  is  the 
charm  of  our  work  ;  every  man  is  here  doing  what  he  can  do  be- 
cause he  loves  the  engagement.  Sunday  morning  is  too  slow  in 
its  movement  for  the  inspired  heart,  for  that  heart  is  saying  all  the 
while,  ' '  Would  that  the  golden  gates  were  opened,  and  that  the 
service  were  begun,  and  that  we  were  already  half-way  up  the  hill 
which  is  crowned  by  heaven."  Nothing  is  done  of  constraint; 
therefore  labour  is  rest ;  therefore  giving  is  getting  ;  therefore 
prayer  is  its  own  answer  ;  and  therefore  the  Sabbath  is  the  golden 
crown  of  the  week  of  toil. 

What  then  was  the  guilt  of  this  man  Ananias  }  It  was  the  guilt 
of  every  age.  Do  not  regard  Ananias  as  a  liar  eighteen  hundred 
or  nineteen  hundred  years  old  ;  Ananias  is  the  liar  of  to-day,  and 
he  is  present  in  every  congregation,  and  probably  will  be  present 
until  the  end  of  time.  Ananias  represents  those  who  say  they 
have  done  all  they  can  do,  when  they  know  that  their  statement  is  a 
lie.  No  man  has  done  all  he  can  do.  Are  we  then  all  guilty  before 
God  in  that  respect }  Certainly  not.  If  a  man  will  honestly  say 
to  God.  "  There  are  twelve  hours  in  the  day,  and  I  cannot  pro- 
fess to  give  thee  more  than  two  of  them,"  that  man  is  an  honest 
man,  and  the  two  hours  may  be  acceptable.  But  if  a  man  shall 
endeavour  to  represent  his  txvo  hours  as  twelve  he  will  die,  he  will 
be  killed,  he  will  be  buried,  but  not  in  "  the  sepulchres  of  the 
kings."     Whi(!h  of  us  has  done  all  he  can?     Not  I.     I  could 


DECEIVERS   OF  THE  LORD.  117 

have  done  ten  times  more.  I  could  have  prayed  more,  preached 
more,  and  suffered  more.  What  they  can  say  who  have  done 
nothing  but  enjoy  themselves  I  know  not.  They  make  me  afraid. 
I  was  told  of  persons  who  were  supposed  to  be  worth  five-and- 
twenty  thousand  pounds  that  at  the  Communion  of  the  Lord's 
Table  never  contribute  a  coin,  but  put  in  the  communion  card 
alone.  Is  it  possible  }  Thy  money  perish  with  thee.  Keep  it ; 
keep  it.  Take  it  in  the  coffin  with  thee.  Do  insist  upon  having 
it  there.  Make  a  pillow  of  it ;  make  a  footstool  of  it ;  make  a 
lining  of  it.  Keep  it,  thou  whited  sepulchre  !  Ananias  lied 
without  speaking,  and  that  is  the  worst  form  of  falsehood.  The 
blundering  speaker  of  a  lie  may  be  converted  ;  but  the  actor  of  a 
lie  can  only  be  killed. 

The  discipltfte  of  the  Church  here  sets  in  very  strongly.  Ananias 
and  Sapphira,  his  wife,  probably  thought  that  Christianity  would 
endure  only  for  a  little  time.  They  meant  to  make  the  most  of 
it,  and,  in  order  to  do  that,  they  must  undergo  something  like 
the  process  of  a  sacrifice.  They  underwent  it.  "It  is  a  fearful 
thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God."  To  bring  my 
piece,  and  lay  it  down  as  if  it  were  all,  can  any  atheist  stab  the 
Christ  of  God  so  far  in  as  that }  To  sit  in  the  Church  and  drop 
in  the  little  square  communion  card  as  if  there  might  be  some- 
thing behind  it,  when  there  is  nothing — can  any  bloodless  atheist 
strike  him  between  the  eyes  like  that  P  O  Church  of  the  living 
God  !  conversion  must  begin  within  thee  ;  and  then  the  fire  will 
burn,  and  throw  out  its  happy  influence  upon  the  wide  circumfer- 
ence, and  there  shall  be  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  Oi  God 
over  a  prodigal  Church,  repentant  and  returned  ! 


XIII. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  thou  dost  speak  wonderful  things  unto  the  children  of 
men.  Thy  voice  is  like  none  other.  The  sound  of  thy  voice  is  heard  in 
our  heart  like  music  from  heaven,  and  it  soothes  and  inspires,  and  warms 
our  life  with  a  new  glow.  All  thy  words  are  wonderful,  but  who  shall 
tell  the  graciousness  of  thy  promises,  how  sweet  they  are,  how  many  in 
number,  strong  as  a  great  host,  many  as  the  drops  of  the  dew  of  the 
morning.  And  thou  dost  not  withhold  one  of  them  from  the  hearts  that 
love  thee.  Men  of  old  called  thy  promises  exceeding  great  and  precious, 
and  the  men  of  to-day  could  repeat  the  word,  for  in  our  case  thy  prom- 
ises have  been  greater  than  our  imagination,  and  more  precious  than  our 
love.  We  lean  upon  thy  promises,  we  run  into  them  as  into  a  sanctuary, 
when  the  storm  is  very  high.  Hast  thou  not  clothed  us  with  salvation, 
and  made  us  rich  with  confidence,  and  driven  away  our  fear  by  the  shin- 
ing of  an  inextinguishable  hope?  We  are  in  thy  house,  standing  in  the 
appointed  place,  and  at  the  appointed  time,  and  we  come  to  thee  in  the 
appointed  way.  Jesus  Christ,  the  wounded  One,  the  triumphant  Saviour, 
and  we  expect  great  things  from  heaven.  Thou  hast  wrought  in  us  a  dis- 
content with  the  prizes  of  time  and  the  triumphs  of  earth,  and  by  the  very 
discontent  which  thou  hast  inspired,  will  we  expect  great  things  from 
Thyself.  Open  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  astonish  us  by  the  outpour- 
ing of  thy  blessing  !  Let  thy  people  be  glad  with  a  new  joy,  and  thy 
saints  shout  aloud  for  ecstasy  of  heart.  Return,  oh  Holy  Dove  !  Re- 
turn, sweet  messenger  of  rest !  Thy  Church  is  indifferent,  neglectful, 
reluctant  to  follow  the  heroic  impulse  ;  dead,  all  the  fire  of  enthusiasm 
extinguished.  Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our  hearts  inspire.  Thou  art  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever  !  And  are  not  we  also  the  same, 
but  if  left  unto  ourselves,  do  we  not  fall,  and  wither  away  ?  Then  indeed 
is  our  strength  dried  up,  and  our  power  is  as  a  dream  that  has  vanished. 
Come,  Holy  Spirit  !  Wind  from  heaven,  blow  upon  us!  Spirit  of  the 
living  God,  baptize  our  souls  as  with  fire  !  In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
who  knew  no  fear  do  thou  deliver  our  souls  from  the  bondage  of  appre- 
hension. We  feared  for  thy  truth,  and  we  are  ashamed,  because  we  were 
afraid.  We  feared  for  thy  Church,  forgetting  that  thy  Church  is  in  very 
deed  thine  own  ,  lest  any  man  should  hurt  her,  thou  wilt  keep  her  night 
and  day.  We  are  not  as  were  the  Apostles  in  the  early  time.  We  are 
cold  and  calculating.  We  are  self-involved,  and  self-satisfied.  We  have 
lost  the  sacred  apdour  ;  and  the  wings  that  could  fly  in  the  open  firma- 


THE  TEXT. 


119 


ment  have  been  bruised  or  torn  away.  Return,  oh  Holy  Dove— return  ! 
Shew  us  what  we  are,  what  time  is,  what  earth  is,  how  few  our  days  are, 
how  urgent  is  the  King's  business  ;  and  may  we  hasten  upon  it,  as  those 
whose  only  delight  is  in  its  discharge.  Comfort  us  one  and  all  this  day 
with  reassured  forgiveness.  Say  unto  those  who  would  serve  thee, 
"  Though  the  just  man  fall  seven  times  a  day,  yet  shall  he  stand  up  at  the 
last."  If  any  are  cast  down,  tell  them  that  they  are  not  therefore  de- 
stroyed. Speak  comfortably  to  every  heart  as  thou  only  canst  speak. 
Where  there  is  a  great  vacancy  because  the  old  companion  is  no  more, 
join  the  solitary  thyself,  and  make  the  companionship  divine.  Where 
there  is  great  fear  because  the  loved  life  is  panting  in  its  last  weakness, 
send  healing  from  Gilead  and  balm  from  the  chief  of  the  vineyards. 
Where  there  is  any  desire  to  serve  thee  with  nobler  strength,  the  Lord 
double  the  power,  and  give  the  resolution  confirmation  in  heaven.  And 
where  the  life  is  staggering  because  of  the  burden  it  has  to  bear,  and  the 
poor  brain  reels  in  great  wonder,  and  the  heart  long  so  valiant,  nearly 
gives  up  the  unequal  fight,  oh  God,  be  gracious  with  double  tenderness. 
To  them  that  have  no  might  do  thou  increase  strength.  Unite  us  all  in 
Christ,  in  the  great  Cross,  in  the  infinite  atonement  for  sin,  in  the  pro- 
found, the  eternal  reconciliation  wrought  out  by  the  Priesthood  of  Christ. 
May  we  walk  the  few  remaining  miles  together,  strengthening  one  an- 
other, loving  one  another,  forgiving  one  another,  and  at  last,  one  by  one, 
may  we  be  gathered  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born, 
whose  names  are  written  in  heaven,  and  from  the  heights  of  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem  we  shall  see  the  way  along  which  thou  hast  in  mercy  brought 
us,  and  then  shall  our  praises  never  cease.     Amen. 

Acts.  V.  12-42. 

12.  And  by  the  hands  of  the  apostles  were  many  signs  and  wonders 
wrought  among  the  people  ;  (and  they  were  all  with  one  accord  in  Solo- 
mon's porch. 

13.  And  [But]  of  the  rest  durst  no  man  join  himself  to  them  :  but 
[Howbeit.  There  are  two  different  conjunctions  in  the  original]  the  peo- 
ple magnified  them. 

14.  And  believers  were  the  more  added  to  the  Lord  [Better,  Persons 
believing  in  the  Lord  were  added  to  his  church]  multitudes  both  of  men 
and  women.) 

15.  Insomuch  that  they  brought  forth  the  sick  into  the  streets,  and  laid 
them  on  beds  and  couches  [the  warm  climate  making  this  possible],  that 
at  the  least  the  shadow  of  Peter  passing  by  might  overshadow  some  of 
them. 

16.  There  came  also  a  multitude  out  of  the  cities  [commonly  used  of 
small  places  as  well  as  large]  round  about  unto  Jerusalem,  bringing  sick 
folks,  and  them  which  were  vexed  with  unclean  spirits  :  and  they  were 
healed  every  one. 


I20  ACTS  V.  12-42. 


17.  Then  [But]  the  high  priest  rose  up,  and  all  they  that  were  with  him, 
(which  is  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees)  and  were  filled  with  indignation 
[jealousy]. 

18.  And  laid  their  hands  on  the  apostles,  and  put  them  in  the  common 
prison. 

19.  But  the  [an]  angel  of  the  Lord  by  night  opened  the  prison  doors, 
and  brought  them  forth,  and  said, 

20.  Go  [and],  stand  and  speak  in  the  temple  to  the  people  all  the  words 
of  this  life  [emphasising  once  more  in  the  most  natural  manner  the  point 
at  issue  between  the  Sadducees  and  the  Apostles]. 

21.  And  when  they  heard  that,  they  entered  into  the  temple  early  [the 
first  sacrifice  was  offered  at  the  very  peep  of  day]  in  the  morning,  and 
taught.  But  the  high  priest  came  [into  the  council  chamber],  and  they 
that  were  with  him,  and  called  the  council  together,  and  all  the  senate 
[the  older  men  ;  seventy-one  in  number]  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
sent  to  the  prison  to  have  them  brought. 

22.  But  when  the  officers  [the  same  word  is  rendered  minister  in  Luke 
iv.  20]  came,  and  found  them  not  in  the  prison,  they  returned,  and  told, 

23.  Saying.  The  prison  truly  found  we  shut  with  all  safety,  and  the 
keepers  standing  without  before  the  doors  :  but  when  we  had  opened,  we 
found  no  man  within. 

24.  Now  when  the  high  priest  and  the  captain  of  the  temple  and  the 
chief  priests  heard  these  things,  they  doubted  of  them  whereunto  this 
would  grow. 

25.  Then  [not  an  adverb  of  iimi[  came  one  and  told  them,  saying,  Be- 
hold, the  men  whom  ye  put  in  prison  are  standing  [a  prominent  and  un- 
daunted position]  in  the  temple,  and  teaching  the  people. 

26.  Then  went  the  captain  with  the  officers,  and  brought  them  without 
violence  :  for  they  feared  the  people,  lest  they  should  have  been  stoned. 

27.  And  when  they  had  brought  them  [to  the  judgment  hall],  they  set 
them  before  the  council  :  and  the  high  priest  asked  them, 

28.  Saying,  Did  not  we  straitly  command  you  that  ye  should  not  teach 
in  this  name  ?  Better  affirmatively.  We  straitly  charged  you]  and,  be- 
hold, ye  have  filled  Jerusalem  [the  testimony  of  enemies  !]  with  your  doc- 
trine, and  intend  [wish]  to  bring  this  man's  blood  upon  us. 

29.  Then  Peter  and  the  other  apostles  answered  and  said.  We  ought 
[we  must]  to  obey  God  rather  than  men. 

30.  The  God  of  our  fathers  raised  up  Jesus,  whom  ye  slew  and  hanged 
on  a  tree. 

31.  Him  hath  God  exalted  with  his  right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  and  a 
Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance  to  Israel,  and  forgiveness  of  sins. 

32.  And  we  are  his  witnesses  of  these  things  ;  [the  Crucifixion  and 
Resurrection]  and  so  is  also  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  God  hath  given  to 
them  that  obey  him. 

33.  When  they  heard  that,  they  were  cut  to  the  heart,  [not  compunc- 
tion, but  annoyanee]  and  took  counsel  to  slay  them. 


OLD-FASHIONED    RELIGION. 


34.  Then  stood  there  up  one  in  the  council,  a  Pharisee,  named  Gama- 
liel, [the  teacher  of  Saul,]  a  doctor  of  the  law,  had  in  reputation  among  all 
the  people,  and  commanded  to  put  the  apostles  forth  a  little  space  ; 

35.  And  said  unto  them,  Ye  men  of  Israel,  take  heed  to  yourselves 
what  ye  intend  to  do  as  touching  these  men. 

36.  For  before  these  days  rose  up  Theudas,  boasting  himself  to  be 
somebody  ;  to  whom  a  number  of  men,  about  four  hundred,  joined  them- 
selves :  who  was  slain  ;  and  all,  as  many  as  obeyed  him,  were  scattered, 
and  brought  to  nought. 

37.  After  this  man  rose  up  Judas  of  Galilee  in  the  days  of  the  taxing, 
[seven  years  later  than  the  enrolment  mentioned,  Luke  ii.  2]  and  drew 
away  much  people  after  him  :  he  also  perished  ;  and  all,  even  as  many  as 
obeyed  him,  were  dispersed. 

38.  And  now  I  say  unto  you,  Refrain  from  these  men,  and  let  them 
alone  :  for  if  this  council  or  this  work  be  of  men,  it  will  come  to  nought : 

39.  But  if  it  be  of  God,  ye  cannot  overthrow  it  ;  lest  haply  ye  be  found 
even  to  fight  against  God. 

40.  And  to  him  they  agreed  :  and  when  they  had  called  the  apostles, 
and  beaten  them,  they  commanded  that  they  should  not  speak  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  and  let  them  go. 

41.  And  they  departed  from  the  presence  of  the  council,  rejoicing  that 
they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  his  [The]  name. 

42.  And  daily  in  the  temple,  and  in  every  house,  they  ceased  not  to 
teach  and  preach  Jesus  Christ. 

APOSTOLIC  AUDACITY. 

BY  reading  these  verses  through  all  at  once,  you  get  into  their 
svi^ing  and  rhythm.  A  keen,  subtle  music  touches  the 
reader  whose  heart  is  interested  in  the  graphic  .story.  Of  what  is 
the  history .?  Of  something  quite  dead  and  gone  for  ever .? 
Would  any  man  imagine  from  the  controversies  which  now  agitate 
the  Church  M'ithin  its  own  boundaries,  that  the  Church  of  to-day 
is  the  legitimate  descendant  of  the  Church  of  whose  history  these 
verses  form  a  part }  It  requires  the  greatest  effort,  not  of  faith, 
but  of  imagination,  to  trace  any  connection  between  the  Church 
of  to-day,  as  we  represent  it,  and  even  as  we  know  it,  and  the 
Church  of  the  heroic  days.  What  is  your  ancestry  }  Why,  if  you 
knew  it,  you  are  children  of  the  storm  !  It  does  not  become  you 
as  a  Christian  to  talk  about  quietness,  and  enjoyment,  and  absence 
of  sensationalism.  You  are  the  children  of  the  tempest,  you  were 
rocked  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep  1  You  have  lost  the  accent  of 
your  family.     Men  cannot  tell  whence  we  came,  they  cannot  indi- 


ACTS  V.  12-42. 


cate  our  native  country  ;  we  speak  the  usual  language  in  the  usual 
tone,  we  are  afraid  of  anything  that  is  eccentric  and  unusual,  and 
thus  we  have  abandoned  all  that  makes  our  ancestry'  worthy  of 
recollection.  We  cannot  get  away  from  the  fact  that  we  represent 
a  faith  which  has  been  the  most  fighting  faith  of  the  earth.  Chris- 
tianity is  a  combative  religion.  What  is  the  meaning,  then,  of 
this  whimper  that  I  now  hear  about  retiring  to  quiet  places,  leav- 
ing all  sensationalism,  and  adopting  old-fashioned  ways  of  doing 
things  ?  My  friends,  bethink  you,  when  you  say  the  word  old- 
fashioned,  what  do  you  mean  }  Where  do  you  draw  the  line  ? 
Mention  the  date  and  measure  of  your  old-fashionedness  ?  There 
are  those  who  take  to  themselves  the  character  and  quality  of  being 
old-fashioned  people.  Christians  of  the  old-fashioned  sort.  I 
would  God  they  were  !  They  would  be  so  good.  They  would 
warm  the  place.  Their  nearness  would  send  a  glow  of  enthusi- 
asm and  sacred  ardour  to  the  heart.  But  alas  !  their  old-fash- 
ionedness may  only  go  back  to  an  intermediate  period.  It  may 
be  a  kind  of  middle-age  collapse.  If  you  want  the  old-fashioned 
sort,  you  must  go  back  to  the  Evangelists  and  to  the  Apostles,  and 
read  the  document  in  the  New  Testament,  which  is  specifically 
called  the  Acts,  and  there  you  do  see  what  old-fashioned  Chris- 
tianity really  was.  But  it  is  in  this  case  as  it  is  in  tracing  a  man's 
ancestry.  He  goes  back  in  his  ancestry  until  he  finds  the  most 
important  man  in  it,  and  there  stops.  But  I  ask  about  the  an- 
cestry of  that  most  famous  man  himself.  And  so  if  we  trace  our 
ancestry  back,  not  stopping  at  points  we  like  the  best  and  are 
proud  of,  we  shall  all  come  to  Adam  and  Eve,  and  all  fall  in  the 
first  apostasy.  Let  us  then  be  true  to  the  facts  of  history  and  go 
really  back  to  roots,  and  origins,  and  causes,  and  do  not  let  us 
call  ourselves  old-fashioned  simply  because  we  are  slothful.  By 
every  name  that  redeems  and  beautifies  the  earth,  I  protest  against 
an  old-fashionedness  that  thinks  of  itself,  and  is  never  lost  in  the 
generous  absorption  of  apostolic  self-oblivion. 

Take  a  cutting  out  of  any  modern  Church  record,  and  put  it 
beside  this  cutting  from  one  of  the  earliest  Church  writers  ;  then 
look  on  the  two  pictures,  and  tell  me  how  the  latter  can  justify 
even  a  family  connection  with  the  former.  Verily  there  was  not 
much  to  induce  the  Apostles  to  go  on  with  this  work.  Their  pay- 
ment was  not  large.     The  bribe  did  not  amount  to  a  temptation. 


RESPECTABLE   CHURCHISM.  123 

Scoffing,  imprisoning,  neglect,  hunger,  cold,  nakedness,  thirst, 
abandonment.  Yet  they  went  forward  with  their  work  as  if  kings 
were  their  hired  servants,  and  as  if  the  treasures  of  the  earth  were 
bound  to  give  them  daily  riches.  How  is  this  }  What  a  fulfil- 
ment of  Christ's  own  word  !  In  speaking  of  the  revelation  which 
Peter  reported  from  heaven,  Jesus  said,  ' '  On  this  rock  I  build  my 
Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  The 
gates  of  hell  were  not  long  in  trying  their  strength  upon  that  rock. 
Yea,  the  very  bolts  of  fire  seemed  to  be  let  loose  upon  the  rock, 
as  if  they  might  melt  it  and  cause  it  to  flow  away  in  fear  and 
weakness.  Are  we  in  the  Apostolic  succession  ?  Not  so  far  !  No 
man  is  in  the  Apostolic  succession  who  is  not  in  the  Apostolic 
spirit,  and  the  Apostolic  spirit  was  a  spirit  of  self-denial,  self-sup- 
pression, courageous  faith,  valiant,  soldier-like  determination,  to 
speak  the  truth  and  to  live  it.  We  trim,  we  modify,  we  adapt. 
Yes,  that  is  what  we  are.  Not  Apostles,  but  adapters.  I  knew 
there  was  a  word  somewhere  in  the  language  that  would  exactly 
express  our  present  spirit  and  service.  We  adapt  the  Gospel  to  the 
age.  We  preach  to  the  times.  We  do  not  stand  back  in  those 
eternal  truths  which  belong  to  all  ages,  and  whose  musical  thunder 
should  bring  into  reconciliation  every  antagonism  and  discord. 
Yet  we  claim  to  be  of  the  old-fashioned  sort.  The  old-fashioned 
ministers  bore  scars  for  medals  ;  they  took  honours  in  the  school 
of  suffering  ;  they  graduated  in  the  dungeon  and  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  their  breath  was  like  the  fresh  air  that  blows  round  a 
mountain  top.  Do  I  speak  to  any  young  man  who  is  about  to 
enter  the  ministry  .?  Any  gentle,  delicate,  pale,  frail  creature  who 
is  going  to  take  up  the  Apostolic  banner — at  least,  the  silken  end 
of  it  ?  It  is  hard  work.  You  can  make  it  easy  if  you  please  ; 
but  in  so  pleasing  you  offend  God.  Wherever  this  Gospel  is 
preached  it  must  create  antagonism.  We  have  indeed,  by  a  tacit 
compact,  villainous  in  its  every  syllable,  agreed  to  shut  up  the  un- 
pleasant, and  to  confine  the  disagreeable,  and  to  hold  converse 
only  upon  such  topics  and  principles  as  soothe  and  comfort  us, 
and  assure  us  of  our  personal  safety.  Why,  Christianity  began  as 
a  fighting  religion.  When  did  it  lay  aside  its  first  charter .?  Chris- 
tianity came  as  a  fire,  as  a  sword,  as  a  voice  of  judgment.  When 
did  it  pass  through  a  transformation  which  robbed  it  cf  its  com- 
bativeness  and  made  it  as  other  faiths }     When  was  this  Samson 


124  ACTS  V.  12-42. 


shorn  ?  See  to  it  in  very  deed,  because  if  we  are  Christians  we 
must  do  deeds — at  least  bear  such  testimony  as  will  bring  upon  us 
the  aversion  and  hatred  of  wicked  men.  Any  man  who  insists 
upon  the  disuse  of  ambiguity,  and  upon  the  use  of  straightforward 
and  simple  terms,  must  expect  to  bring  upon  himself  hatred  in  the 
form  of  criticism,  and  must  expect  to  be  imprisoned  within  strong 
walls.  Would  that  the  old  heroic  days  could  come  back  upon  us 
all  !  Do  you  know  to  whom  you  are  indebted  for  the  quiet 
enjoyment  of  Gospel  privileges  ?  Name  the  land  from  which  the 
treasure  came  which  you  call  your  peace  ?  You  are  indebted  for 
your  peace  to  the  battles  of  olher  ine7i.  Because  the  Apostles 
suffered,  we  enjoy.  Because  they  went  to  prison,  we  are  kept 
out  of  it.  But  the  fear  is,  the  shameful  fear,  is  that  we  imagine 
that  we  are  the  creators  of  our  own  safety,  and  the  originators  of 
our  own  security.  That  would  indeed  be  the  climax  of  injustice 
and  ingratitude.  You  are  asked  as  young  readers  now  and  again 
to  read  the  history  of  your  nation  ;  of  the  heroic  days,  of  the 
brave  days  of  chivalry,  and  I  join  in  the  appeal  ;  but  I  add  to  it, 
and  elevate  it,  and  glorify  it,  by  telling  you  to  go  back  to  Apos- 
tolic history,  and  to  learn  from  those  thrilling  pages  what  it  once 
was  to  be  a  Christian. 

We  ought,  then,  to  have  great  patience  with  all  persons  who  are 
starting  up  in  any  novel  and  eccentric  way  to  endeavour  to  advance 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  If  we  begin  to  frown  upon  them,  we 
repeat  the  iniquity  which  our  Lord  we  know  will  condemn.  We 
live  in  freedom.  Christianity  is  wanting  if  it  does  not  try  by  all 
means  to  save  some.  Christianity  is  still  the  religion  of  the  Cross. 
That  sacred,  grim  emblem  is  never  allowed  to  fall  into  desuetude  ; 
and  even  on  the  most  dazzling  State  occasions  it  is  known  by  the 
agony  of  that  symbol.  Who  dare  appropriate  the  place  in  which 
we  are  now  assembled,  and  many  like  it,  to  extraordinary  or  un- 
usual religious  services  ?  Who  dare  fill  such  places  as  this  with  the 
very  refuse  and  offscouring  of  London  ?  If  you  came  through 
many  of  the  streets  of  the  Metropolis  this  morning  you  saw  crowds 
of  persons  who,  probably,  were  never  inside  a  Christian  Sanctuary, 
or  if  they  were,  it  was  in  some  little  colonial  institution  down- 
stairs, or  in  some  back  place  of  the  city,  but  not  in  the  citadel 
that  you  call  your  Cathedral  or  your  Temple,  or  your  Tabernacle, 
or  your  Conventicle.     The  moment  Christianity  became  respect- 


TRUE  PREACHING.  125 

able  it  became  one  of  a  multitude.  Christianity  must  never  have 
a  second  ;  she  must  not  even  be  at  the  top  of  a  list ;  she  must  be 
the  Ruler,  the  One  ;  and  her  uniqueness  must  be  at  once  her 
strength  and  her  beauty.  Never  forget  that  you  are  the  descend- 
ants of  men  who  ate  up  the  fire  that  was  to  burii  them,  and  digest- 
ed it,  and  turned  it  into  noble  strength  ;  that  drank  up  the  seas 
that  were  to  have  drowned  them,  and  came  through  ever-thicken- 
ing danger,  gathering  strength  with  exercise,  and  being  made  out 
of  common  men,  heroic  and  illustrious  characters. 

Here  you  find  Christianity  working  according  to  its  opportunity. 
There  were  persons  who  brought  sick  folks  in  great  numbers. 
There  were  multitudes  out  of  the  streets  round  about  bringing 
with  them  those  that  were  vexed  with  unclean  spirits.  Chris- 
tianity does  not  examine  into  a  man's  motive  with  such  severity  as 
to  repel  him  from  its  bodily  blessings.  This  is  a  law  which,  per- 
haps, we  have  not  sufficiently  recognized.  Jesus  Christ  knew  and 
said  that  the  people  came  not  for  the  sake  of  the  doctrine,  but  for 
the  loaves  and  fishes  ;  but  He  did  not,  therefore,  drive  them 
away.  Many  others  came  to  be  healed,  or  to  have  their  friends 
cured  ;  and  they  cared  not  what  was  the  speculative  or  metaphysi- 
cal doctrine  taught  so  long  as  a  cure  was  effected.  Jesus  Christ 
healed  all  in  the  hope  that  he  might  save  some.  If  you  would 
feed  all  the  poor  of  London  you  might  save  a  few.  Expect  the 
sting  of  ingratitude,  expect  the  discredit  of  imputed  motives,  ex- 
pect that  many  whom  you  have  helped  will  turn  away  from  you  in 
the  time  of  your  own  necessity  ;  but  take  not  your  inspiration 
from  man's  ingratitude,  but  from  Christ's  redeeming  love.  If  Vv*e 
work  for  gratitude  we  will  be  ill  paid,  and  we  deserve  to  be. 
Whoever  works  for  any  degree  of  applause  deserves  all  the  con- 
tempt which  may  be  inflicted  upon  him.  Jesus  Christ,  let  me 
repeat,  for  in  repeating  it  I  repeat  a  Gospel,  healed  all,  if  haply 
He  might  save  some. 

How  do  we  account  for  the  difference  between  Apostolic  times, 
and  our  own  days  ?  Man  is  the  same,  truth  is  the  same,  the 
enmity  of  the  heart  against  Christ  and  righteousness  is  the  same. 
Christ  is  the  same,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  same,  and  yet  we  are 
living  along  dwindling  lines,  and  we  are  fast  sinking  into  spiritual 
exhaustion.  How  is  this  }  It  is  because  we  have  lost  the  proper 
vocation  of  Christianity.     What  is  that  proper  vocation  >     To  save 


126  ACTS  V.  12-42. 


men,  not  to  please  them  ;  not  to  flatter  them,  but  to  save  them  ; 
and  we  have  lost  the  proper  vocation  of  the  pulpit.  The  pulpit 
has  become  now  another  branch  of  book- making.  The  sermon 
has  lost  its  individuality.  It  ought  to  be  a  thing  that  cannot  be 
printed.  A  sermon  that  can  be  printed  is  not  a  sermon.  A  ser- 
mon is  a  speech,  an  expostulation,  an  entreaty,  an  exhortation, 
having  its  quality  made  up  of  the  very  personal  elements  of  the 
man  who  delivers  it — his  accents,  his  quality  of  mind,  his  enlarged 
sympathy  and  nobleness  ;  hence  the  true  sermon  is  impregnated 
with  elements  which  cannot  be  caught,  fastened  down,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  eye.  The  sermon  is  not  addressed  to  the  eye  ;  it  is 
a  thunder  that  beats  upon  the  ear.  You  are  to  blame,  as  I  am, 
along  with  all  our  contemporaries  for  the  degradation  of  the  ser- 
mon. We  talk  now  about  sermons  being  polished,  and  finished, 
and  exquisite,  with  many  a  delicate  little  touch  artistic.  The 
Lord  send  fire  upon  all  such  abortions  and  burn  them  up,  till  their 
white  ashes  cannot  any  more  be  found  !  Read  Christ's  words 
and  wonder  at  their  power.  Read  many  of  the  subjects  of  Apos- 
tolic discourses  and  wonder  at  the  results  produced.  Who  can 
find  in  Whitefield's  sermons,  Whitefield's  power?  The  sermon  is 
not  a  book  or  a  part  of  a  book,  it  is  not  in  the  literary  trade  at  all, 
it  is  something  that  stands  apart,  alone,  and  the  preacher  who  is 
true  to  the  vocation  of  the  sermon  will  never  lack  a  congregation. 
He  has  no  competitor.  It  is  when  he  begins  to  read  his  sentences 
and  to  measure  them  with  sentences  in  books,  that  he  becomes 
one  of  a  number. 

When  he  is  true  to  inspired  doctrine,  and  to  his  vocation,  when 
he  stands  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  Paul  and  Peter,  then  he  can- 
not be  compared,  for  he  is  not  in  the  list  of  competitive  wresders 
and  strugglers.  But  the  Church  must  help  the  preacher.  The 
Church  must  say  to  him  in  so  many  words,  "  Yes,  you  stand  faith- 
fully to  that  conception  of  preaching,  and  rely  upon  our  prayers 
and  sympathy,  and  trust  and  help." 

As  to  the  speech  of  Gamaliel,  I  accept  it  every  word.  Gamaliel 
gives  me  the  only  conditions  the  Church  ought  ever  to  ask  for. 
To  be  left  alone  to  carry  our  her  own  policy,  and  to  realize  the 
results  of  her  own  conception  and  faith.  As  a  Christian  teacher  I 
have  no  right  to  ask  to  be  heard  at  the  expense  of  any  other  man. 
Let  Theudas  speak,  let  Judas  of  Galilee  speak,  and  when  they  are 


TRUE  PREACHING.  127 

done,  let  the  Christian  speaker  make  his  appeal,  and  *'  the  God 
that  answereth  by  fire  let  Him  be  God." 

Let  Socrates  conduct  his  dialogue,  let  Seneca  read  his  moral 
proverbs  and  sententious  ethics  ;  let  all  Greek  and  Roman  think- 
ers unfold  their  theories  and  make  good  their  positions  ;  let  every 
man  have  all  the  hearing  which  he  demands,  and  when  they  are 
all  done,  let  us  hear  what  Christ  of  Nazareth-has  to  say,  and  "  the 
God  that  answereth  by  fire  let  Him  be  God."  Christianity  is 
nothing  if  not  heroically  fearless. 


XIV. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  thy  mercy  meets  us  everywhere.  It  is  not  far  to  seek. 
Thy  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus  is  round  about  us,  we  breathe  it,  we  live  under 
its  influence,  without  it  %ve  must  surely  die.  We  speak  of  thy  great 
mercy,  and  thy  tender  mercy.  Thou  dost  fill  us  with  amazement,  be- 
cause of  the  wondrousness  of  the  meicy  which  covers  all  thy  works.  We 
come  by  the  way  of  mercy,  the  way  of  judgment  we  dare  not  tread.  On 
that  road  there  are  swords  that  slay  us,  and  lions  that  devour,  and  wrath 
that  burns.  We  come  by  the  way  of  the  cross.  We  put  our  feet  in  the 
footprints  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  stand  beside  the  Priest  slain  for  us  by  his 
own  hand,  and  because  of  this  blood  we  have  hope  that  our  sin  may  be 
forgiven.  We  would  that  every  night  might  see  the  destruction  of  the 
day's  transgression.  We  would  not  carry  the  guilt  of  to-day  into  the  un- 
sullied light  of  to-morrow.  We  would  bury  it  by  the  cross  of  Christ  in 
the  darkness  of  the  night,  never  to  be  seen  again.  Thus  do  thou  give  us 
assurance  that  our  guilt  shall  not  be  piled  up  against  us  into  infinite 
aggravation,  but  shall  be  destroyed  day  by  day,  so  that  if  we  sleep  the 
unwaking  sleep,  we  shall  be  found  in  heaven,  forgiven  souls.  Come  to 
us  in  Christ  Jesus,  Thy  Son,  to-day,  and  make  festival  in  our  souls.  May 
we  enter  into  the  Lord's  banqueting  house,  and  enjoy  the  hospitality  of 
infinite  love.  May  this  be  no  common  day  in  our  experience.  From  the 
dawn  even  until  the  eventide,  and  the  shining  of  the  night  stars,  may 
there  be  joy  in  our  hearts,  singing  as  of  angel  voices,  and  lights  that 
shine  from  the  upper  places.  We  would  enjoy  the  Christian  Sabbath. 
We  would  understand  in  our  hearts  the  meaning  of  the  resurrection  of 
our  Lord,  and  having  looked  into  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay,  we  would 
look  up  into  the  place  where  the  Lord  stands,  and  find  in  his  intercession 
the  utterance  of  all  our  prayers.  We  bless  thee  for  such  desires.  Thou 
didst  biing  the  heart  out  of  the  darkness,  and  gave  it  the  joy  of  light. 
Once  we  had  no  such  feeling.  We  were  content  with  our  chains,  and 
found  our  miserable  joy  in  our  mean  bondage.  Now  we  have  breathed 
the  higher  air.  Now  we  have  had  gleams  of  the  higher  light.  Now  we 
begin  to  feel  the  enjoyment  of  a  nobler  fellowship,  and  our  souls  are  in- 
flamed with  high  and  spiritual  desire.  Surely  thou  wilt  open  thy  book 
with  thine  own  hands.  It  shall  not  be  to  us  a  book  of  letters  only,  but  it 
shall  glow  with  divine  presences  and  sacred  influences,  and  out  of  the 
living  pages  there  shall  come  living  gospels.  God  grant  that  so  it  may 
surely  be. 


THE  TEXT.  129 


Show  us  how  little  we  are  and  frail,  always  walking  upon  the  brink  of 
our  own  grave  ;  feeling  even  in  the  warm  summer  air  the  chill  breath  of 
death.  Show  us  that  the  flowers  wither,  even  whilst  they  unfold.  Give 
us  to  feel  that  winter  is  at  both  ends  of  the  spring,  and  is  a  continual 
threatening  of  its  life.  So  teach  us  to  number  our  days  that  we  may  ap- 
ply our  hearts  unto  wisdom.  Still  lift  up  our  lives  above  all  mean  fear- 
fulness,  and  give  us  the  inspiration  of  heroism,  the  noble  and  glorious 
courage  of  men  to  whom  the  issues  of  a  great  battle  are  confided.  May 
we  be  strong  in  the  grace  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  May  we  know  what  it 
is  to  enjoy  the  assurance  of  the  Divine  favour.  Being  no  more  tossed 
about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine,  may  we  stand  in  the  sanctuary  of  thy 
truth,  and  fear  not  fire,  or  tempest,  or  famine,  or  sword.  Lord  God  of 
Elijah,  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  and  the  great  and  glorious  company  of 
the  Apostles,  lift  us,  the  children  of  modern  days,  up  into  very  noble 
manhood,  and  may  the  last  estate  of  the  world  be  better  than  the  first. 

Comfort  us  according  to  the  sharpness  of  our  pain.  Our  eyes  are  often 
weary  because  of  the  burden  of  tears.  Our  sleep  sometimes  flees  away 
before  the  ever  encroaching  anxiety  which  devours  the  mind.  We  have 
pain  of  body,  sorrow  of  soul,  darkness  of  outlook.  Our  property  has 
dwindled,  our  prosperity  has  been  shaken  to  its  foundation,  or  there  is 
sickness  at  home,  the  little  one  is  ill,  the  oldest  of  our  loved  ones  is  say- 
ing— farewell.  The  heart  knoweth  its  own  bitterness.  We  pray  thee, 
therefore,  in  Christ  thy  Son  our  Saviour,  come  to  us  with  the  comforts 
that  heal  the  heart,  and  make  us  glad  because  of  recovered  confidence. 

To  others  thou  hast  given  great  joy.  Every  day  sees  a  battle  won. 
Every  night  closes  upon  a  fortune  advanced.  All  the  days  are  triumphs. 
There  is  no  aching  of  the  head,  no  pain  of  the  heart,  no  distress  of  the 
imagination.  Anxiety  is  a  bitterness  unknown,  and  fear  has  no  place  in 
the  life.  The  Lord  sanctify  such  experience,  and  restrain  those  who 
enjoy  it,  lest  they  fight  against  God. 

Look  over  our  little  life,  and  repair  it  every  day.  The  wind  blows  it 
down,  the  fire  burns  it,  the  enemy  undermines  it.  Poor  little  life  !  So 
small  to  begin  with,  so  weak  at  its  best  !  Oh,  pity  it  1  Continue  to 
redeem  it.  Thou  hast  not  spared  the  blood  of  thy  Son  to  ransom  it,  and 
therefore  at  the  last  it  shall  be  found  in  thine  own  hand.  Thou  that 
dwellest  between  the  Cherubim  shine  forth  !     Amen. 

Acts  vi.  1-8. 

1.  And  in  those  days,  when  the  number  of  the  disciples  was  multiplied, 
there  arose  a  murmuring  of  the  Grecians  against  the  Hebrews,  because 
their  widows  were  neglected  in  the  daily  ministration. 

2.  Then  the  twelve  called  the  multitude  of  the  disciples  unto  them,  and 
said,  It  is  not  reason  that  we  should  leave  the  word  of  God,  and  serve 
tables. 

3.  Wherefore,  brethren,  look  ye  out  among  you  seven  men  of  honest 


I30  ACTS  VI.  1-8. 


report,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom,  whom  we  may  appoint  over 
this  business. 

4.  But  we  will  give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer,  and  to  the  ministry 
of  the  word. 

5.  And  the  saying  pleased  the  whole  multitude  :  and  they  chose  Ste- 
phen, a  man  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  Philip,  and  Procho- 
rus,  and  Nicanor,  and  Timon,  and  Parmenas,  and  Nicolas  a  proselyte  of 
Antioch  : 

6.  Whom  they  set  before  the  apostles  :  and  when  they  had  prayed, 
they  laid  their  hands  on  them. 

7.  And  the  word  of  God  increased  ;  and  the  number  of  the  disciples 
multiplied  in  Jerusalem  greatly  ;  and  a  great  company  of  the  priests  were 
obedient  to  the  faith. 

8.  And  Stephen,  full  of  faith  and  power,  did  great  wonders  and  mira- 
cles among  the  people. 

THE  ELECTION  OF  DEACONS. 

THERE  is  nothing  concealed  in  the  action  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment Church.  Verily  this  whole  thing  was  not  done  in  a 
corner.  The  case  of  Judas  Iscariot  is  not  covered  up,  nor  made 
the  least  of.  It  is  not  referred  to  furtively  as  if  the  writer  would 
gladly  escape  from  the  subject.  Ananias  and  Sapphira  are  not 
names  withdrawn  from  the  sacred  record  because  of  the  lies  which 
they  told.  And  the  murmuring  of  the  Grecians  against  the  He- 
brews is  not  passed  over  without  reference.  The  whole  life  of  the 
Church  is  brought  under  the  shining  light,  and  everything  is  nar- 
rated, with  almost  abruptness,  as  it  is  with  certain  minuteness  of 
detail.  The  Church  is  not  a  secret  institution.  The  Church  of 
Christ  was  never  meant  to  be  a  concealed  force  in  society,  or  to 
have  its  inner  life  and  inner  mechanism,  upon  which  outsiders 
were  not  allowed  to  gaze.  Christianity  abhors  all  official  secrecy. 
It  is  a  religion  which  lives  in  the  daylight.  Its  registers  are  not 
hidden  away  in  iron  safes,  its  writing  is  written  as  with  a  pencil  of 
the  sun.  It  is  well  known  that  in  consequence  of  its  frankness 
the  Bible  has  brought  upon  itself  the  opprobrium  of  those  who  are 
accustomed  to  hide  all  undesirable  and  repulsive  features  of  char- 
acter or  habits  of  life.  Who  would  publish  an  expurgated  edition 
of  the  Bible  !  We  undertake  to  adapt  our  poets  to  modern  tastes 
and  modern  readers.  There  are  transactions  recorded  in  the 
Bible,  which,  if  taken  out  of  their  proper  atmosphere  and  setting, 
cause  a  sensation  of  revulsion  in  the  heart,  but  taken  in  their 


THE  POWER   OF  PRAYER.  131 

places,  read  according  to  their  surroundings,  not  torn  out  of  their 
natural  atmosphere,  and  perused  in  a  high  and  noble  spirit,  they 
are  as  much  part  of  the  Bible  as  they  are  part  of  human  life  ;  and 
they  have  their  high  and  noble  uses  in  the  Bible,  which  uses  can 
only  be  understood  by  those  who  read  in  the  spirit,  and  who  see 
in  death  itself  an  element  out  of  which  life  may  be  brought.  It  is 
refreshing  to  belong  to  a  Church  that  is  so  open  and  fearless,  whose 
judgments  are  not  secret  censures,  and  whose  excommunications 
are  not  vengeful  anathemas,  but  the  just  expression  of  well -argued 
conclusions. 

How  was  this  difficulty  of  the  early  Church  adjusted  }  It  might 
have  ended  in  a  rupture.  To-day  it  would  surely  terminate  in 
many  instances  with  a  secession.  What  was  it  that  guided  the 
Church  aright  in  this  first  misunderstanding  and  difficulty  .?  The 
spirit  of  love  ruled  the  mechanism  of  the  Church,  There  can  be 
no  permanent  difficulties  in  any  Church  in  which  the  spirit  of  love 
is  supreme.  If  a  Church  is  only  a  religious  debating  society,  then 
we  shall  determine  many  issues  merely  by  numbers,  or  merely  by 
accidental  force  of  some  kind  or  other.  He  who  introduces  the 
spirit  of  debate  into  any  community,  incurs  the  very  gravest  respon- 
sibility. We  do  not  meet  to  argue,  to  controvert,  to  oppose  one 
theory  to  another,  we  meet  to  pray.  But  who  can  define  that 
great  word  pray  ?  We  have  narrowed  it,  and  impoverished,  and 
mechanized  it,  until  now  it  has  become  a  species  of  routine.  If 
the  Church  could  meet  to  pray,  to  bring  a  thousand  hearts  into 
confluence,  to  dismiss  every  dividing  force,  and  quality  and 
quantity,  and  with  a  thousand-fold  voice  to  cry  from  the  foot  of 
the  Cross  to  the  throne  of  Heaven,  the  devil  of  debate  would  be 
burned  in  his  native  fire.  It  is  most  interesting  to  watch  the  rise 
and  culmination  of  this  first  difficulty  in  Church  government. 
The  Apostles  look  well  in  this  relation.  What  is  their  starting 
point }  They  argue  all  the  question  out,  from  the  standpoint  of  a 
clear  conception  of  apostolic  work.  Yoviv  first  conception  will  gen- 
erally determine  the  whole  course  of  your  argument.  Starting 
with  a  noble  conception,  a  man  will  naturally  fall  into  the  out- 
working of  a  noble  course,  and  will  generally  reach  a  useful, 
because  worthy  and  righteous,  conclusion.  What  was  the  concep- 
tion of  the  Apostles  of  their  own  work  .?  They  magnified  their 
office.    "  We  will  give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer,  and  to  the 


132  ACTS  VI.  I- 


ministry  of  the  Word."  And  the  Apostles  could  pray!  Just 
lately,  in  this  very  story,  we  heard  them  pray,  and  the  place  where 
they  were  assembled  was  shaken  !  And  the  Apostles  could  also 
preach.  They  divided  their  hearers  into  two  classes,  friends  and 
enemies.  There  was  no  languid  opinion  about  Apostolic  preach- 
ing. The  mere  critic  could  not  play  his  little  game  at  pedantry 
under  the  Apostolic  sermon.  It  was  one  of  two  things  in  an 
Apostolic  sermon,  repentance,  surrender,  crying  to  Heaven  for 
pardon,  or  gnashing  of  teeth,  and  malignant  hatred,  the  very  fire  of 
hell  !  We  have  come  to  new  definitions,  and  definitions  of  a  most 
unfortunate  and  disastrous  kind.  We  pray  quietly,  easily,  super- 
ficially, mechanically,  respectably ;  without  sensation,  without 
passion.  We  could  almost  write  our  prayers  and  read  them,  and 
sleep  over,  them,  and  so  could  others.  The  suppliant  is  never 
maddened  by  his  own  inspiration,  so  that  he  shall  pray  the  sun 
down  and  open  his  eyes  in  unexpected  midnight.  These  regula- 
tion hours  have  ruined  us.  These  beginnings  and  endings  have 
played  havoc  with  the  inspiration  of  the  Church. 

The  apostles  conceiving  their  work  to  be  of  this  high  and 
supreme  kind,  were  rather  anxious  than  otherwise  to  escape  the 
daily  ministration  of  the  tables.  Up*  to  this  time  they  had  taken 
part  in  the  distribution  of  the  public  stock,  and  now  they  gladly 
seized  the  opportunity  of  leaving  this  necessary  routine  to  others 
who  were  ready  to  undertake  it,  whilst  they  went  forward  to  do  the 
large  and  inclusive  work.  This  supreme  conception  of  Apostolic 
service,  was  itself  ennobled  by  the  trust  which  the  Apostles  reposed 
in  the  people.  Who  were  called  together  }  The  whole  multitude. 
The  apostles  "  called  the  multitude  of  the  disciples  unto  them." 
He  is  the  great  apostle  who  has  faith  in  the  people.  Christianity 
is  the  people's  religion  pre-eminently.  There  are  those  in  the 
ministry  of  Christ  who  can  testify  that  they  owe  all  their  comfort, 
prosperity,  and  influence,  to  the  trust  which  they  reposed  in  the 
people.  The  Apostles  did  not  form  a  little  company.  They  did 
not  select  certain  notables,  or  approved  specimens,  but  having  to 
deal  with  a  people's  question,  they  consulted  the  people's  instinct, 
and  therein  they  have  set  an  example  to  all  Christian  associations. 
Let  it  never  be  forgotten,  that  in  this  first  difficulty  of  the  Church 
the  Apostles  did  not  undertake  to  settle  this  matter  themselves,  nor 
did  they  call  representatives  of  the  Church,  they  called  the  ivJiole 


NOTHING   SECULAR   IN  THE  CHURCH.  133 

muliilude,  and  left  it  to  be  adjusted  and  determined  by  the  whole 
Church. 

Whilst  this  was  the  case  at  the  outset,  it  was  impossible  that  the 
whole  Church  could  constitute  a  committee  of  action,  therefore 
the  apostles  said,  "  Look  ye  out  seven  men,"  who  shall  really  be 
yourselves  condensed.  Such  men  as  shall  themselves  be  equal  to 
the  whole  multitude.  Large-minded  generous  men,  who  can  see 
every  aspect  of  a  case,  and  deal  with  noble  wisdom  with  the  prac- 
tical difficulties  of  life.  The  qualifications  of  the  seven  are  plainly 
stated.  They  were  to  be,  "  men  of  honest  report,  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  wisdom."  There  are  no  merely  secular  duties  in  the 
Church.  We  have  divided  Church  service  into  the  temporalities 
and  the  spiritualities.  I  am  not  aware  that  such  a  distinction  was 
acknowledged  by  the  Apostles.  But  allowing  that  some  things 
might  be  called  temporalities,  even  they  were  to  be  handled  by 
men,  "  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  Church  matters  are  not  merely 
matters  of  political  system.  There  is  nothing  done  in  Christ's 
Church,  whether  the  opening  of  a  door,  the  lighting  of  a  lamp,  or 
the  preaching  of  the  everlasting  Gospel,  that  is  not  to  be  done 
under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  A  door  may  be  so 
opened  as  to  affront  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  a  visitor  may  be  so  shown 
to  a  seat  as  to  manifest  a  truly  Christian  spirit  on  the  part  of  the 
indicator.  There  is  no  part  of  our  work  in  any  section  that  is  not 
holy  unto  the  Lord.  Art  thou  weary  in  well  doing }  Remember 
thy  weariness  is  an  offence  to  God.  If  man  engaged  me  to  be  in 
the  ministry  I  might  sometimes  be  annoyed  by  it,  and  be  tempted 
to  flee  away  from  it,  but  when  God  ordains  a  man  to  the  ministry, 
and  ordains  him  in  the  mountain  somewhere,  and  ordains  him  at 
the  Cross  of  His  own  Son,  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  take  offence,  he 
does  not  live  within  the  region  where  whims  and  prejudices  ought 
to  take  effect.  He  is  God's  servant,  whether  called  by  this  name 
or  not,  and  he  must  take  his  orders  from  God  .and  to  God  must 
submit  his  work.  So,  as  I  read  Christian  history  ;  I  see  that  the 
ministry  is  one.  We  are  all  the  ministers  of  Christ  ;  the  door- 
keeper and  the  preacher  are  both  in  the  same  ministry,  there  are 
no  priests  and  outsiders.  There  is  no  outer  circle  and  inner  circle 
in  my  conception  of  the  Church.  You  have  the  gift  of  opening  a 
door,  I  may  have  the  gift  of  expounding  a  passage,  both  the  gifts 
are  from  the  same  Giver.      I  have  no  doubt  that  the  men  chosen 


134  ACTS  VI.  1-8. 


in  this  text  were  better  able  to  serve  tables  than  the  Apostles. 
We  have  not  all  the  same  gifts.  We  must  rid  ourselves  of  the  mis- 
chievous sophism  which  teaches  us  that  some  kinds  of  service  are 
menial.  There  is  no  menial  service  in  the  Church,  unless  you 
make  it  menial  by  an  unworthy  spirit. 

I.ooked  at  as  a  piece  of  Church  statesmanship,  can  you  suggest 
a  single  amendment  to  this  policy  ?  Do  not  the  Apostles  vindicate 
their  Apostleship  by  their  noble  wisdom  and  their  general  strength 
of  mind,  and  by  their  practical  sagacity  ?  It  is  not  every  man  in 
the  Apostleship  who  could  have  settled  a  case  so.  The  ancient 
proverb  tells  us  that  "  every  fool  will  be  meddling."  The  reason 
why  some  ministers  are  uncomfortable  and  unsettled  is  that  they 
will  meddle  with  things  that  they  really  cannot  arrange.  I  have 
confidence  in  the  people.  Impose  a  duty  upon  a  friend,  and  show 
by  your  manner  of  doing  it  that  you  mean  him  to  reveal  his  best 
quality.  When  this  spirit  seizes  us  all  distribution  of  labour  will 
not  be  a  division  of  front,  but  will  rather  show  that  the  front  is 
more  united  because  the  labour  is  wisely  divided.  This  instance 
gives  us  a  glance  into  the  inner  life  of  the  early  Church.  There 
was  great  success  in  those  days.  We  long  to  have  lived  amid  that 
tumult  of  triumph.  It  is  dull  now.  It  is  weary  monotony  to- 
day. To  have  lived  when  the  war-horses  went  out  in  thousands, 
and  their  riders  returned  with  infinite  spoil  !  Oh,  they  were  brave 
days  of  old  !  There  were  giants  on  the  earth  in  ancient  times. 
Men  were  converted  in  multitudes.  There  came  against  the 
Church  daily  a  great  human  flood.  It  is  not  so  now.  It  is  easy 
to  take  the  census  of  religious  attendance  to-day.  The  old  grave 
days  of  tumult  and  uproar,  and  rush,  and  sacred  eagerness  to  be 
first  at  the  sanctuary,  read  like  a  species  of  religious  romance. 
Who  is  to  blame  ?  Has  God  changed,  or  has  man  become  weary  ? 
In  the  ancient  Church  you  see  an  illustration  of  the  possibility  of 
there  being  superiority  without  jealousy.  There  were  the  twelve 
Apostles  and  the  seven  helpers,  and  the  seven  did  not  entertain 
jealousy  about  the  twelve,  nor  did  the  twelve  make  censorious 
remarks  about  the  seven.  They  divided  their  labour,  and  went  to 
work  with  both  hands  to  serve  the  Master.  Jealousy  kills  us  all 
to-day.  We  dare  not  speak  to  one  man  lest  another  man  should 
see  the  action.  There  are  those  who  would  gladly  give  something 
to  know  if  we  shake  hands  more  warmly  with  one  man  than  with 


THE  POWER   OF  UNION.  ■  135 

another.  How  did  this  evil  spirit  get  into  the  Church  ?  Mark,  I 
am  not  speaking  about  any  particular  Church,  but  about  the  whole 
Church  of  Christ,  the  whole  world  over.  Jealousy  is  as  cruel  as 
the  grave  ;  it  can  only  be  cast  out  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  If  a  man 
feel  himself  the  very  least  under  the  influence  of  jealousy,  he 
ought  at  once  to  betake  himself  to  fasting  and  prayer.  You 
know  well  enough  whether  there  is  any  jealousy  in  your  heart.  If 
there  is,  I  beseech  you,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  you  kill  it  this 
very  day.  Could  I  be  jealous  of  the  success  of  another  minister,  I 
would  be  no  minister  of  Christ  myself.  His  success  is  mine.  To 
that  spirit  must  we  come.  Tell  me  of  any  Church  that  is  crowded 
with  eager  thousands,  that  is  the  scene  of  daily  triumphs  in  Christ, 
and  I  am  a  member  of  that  Church.  Its  triumphs  are  ours,  we 
are  not  divided  householders  ;  we  are  one  great  family. 

What  was  the  effect  upon  the  public .?  When  this  matter  was 
settled,  the  result  upon  the  public  mind  is  given  in  these  words, 
in  verse  7,  ' '  The  word  of  God  increased  ;  and  the  number  of  the 
disciples  multiplied  in  Jerusalem  greatly."  It  is  equal  to  cause 
and  effect.  A  united  Church  means  a  world  impressed  by  the 
noble  scene.  The  Church  of  Christ  is  not  united  to-day.  There 
are  Christians  of  high  and  noble  quality  who  are  not,  would  not, 
could  not  occupy  a  pulpit  out  of  their  own  communion.  The 
law  forbids  them.  High  ecclesiastical  authority  interdicts  them 
and  yet  we  are  said  to  be  all  Christians.  The  noble  purpose  of 
Christ  is  marred  by  certain  geographical  distinctions  and  ecclesias- 
tical arrangements,  in  the  making  of  which  Providence  had  neither 
part  nor  lot.  The  Church  must  be  united  before  the  world  will 
be  redeemed.  Hence  Christ's  great  prayer,  "  May  they  all  be 
one,  that  the  world  may  believe."  We  want  the  apostle  now  who 
can  bring  men  together,  who  can  magnify  points  of  union,  who 
can  show  that  the  Church,  though  divided  on  many  minor  points, 
ought  to  realize  its  vital  union,  magnify  and  display  it,  and  thus 
Christ's  soul  would  be  satisfied. 

The  8th  verse  deals  exclusively  with  Stephen.  We  shall  have 
something  to  say  about  Stephen  presently.  They  made  him  a 
minister  of  tables,  and  he  became  the  first  martyr  of  his  Master. 
Stephen  was  developed  by  circumstances.  Being  put  into  this 
office,  he  developed  his  true  quality  of  mind  and  heart.  There 
are  those  who  cannot  be  kept  in  obscurity,  and  who  cannot  be 


136  ACTS  VI.  1-8. 


limited  to  merely  technical  publicity.  What  if  Stephen  had  been 
the  predestined  successor  of  Iscariot  ?  What  if  this  man  had  been 
unintentionally  neglected  ?  Who  can  tell  ?  Into  these  matters 
we  may  not  enter  ;  but  whoever  is  full  of  faith  and  power  will  do 
great  miracles  and  wonders  in  every  age,  and  if  he  escapes  martyr- 
dom it  will  be  by  some  supreme  miracle  of  God. 


XV. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  how  good  it  is  to  draw  unto  thee  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  the  Priest.  Our  souls  warm  at  the  thought  of  thy  love.  Our 
spirits  are  filled  with  noble  desires  when  the  door  of  thine  house  is 
opened,  and  the  way  to  thine  altar  made  clear.  We  turn  away  from  thee, 
and  for  a  moment  may  be  glad  with  social  joy  ;  we  return  unto  the  Lord, 
and  are  made  glad  with  the  delight  of  heaven.  We  are  here  this  day  to 
magnify  thee  as  thou  art  revealed  by  thy  Son— to  call  thee  Father— to 
hide  our  hearts  in  thy  love — to  ask  thee  for  Christ's  sake  to  forgive  all 
our  sins.  This  is  our  sacred  business  with  thee.  This  is  our  one  con- 
cern. We  have  come  to  hold  communion  with  God,  through  Christ,  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  we  would  that  our  communion  might  be  simple, 
deep,  loving,  long-continued,  a  hint  and  pledge  of  the  fellowship  of 
heaven.  We  have  come  to  thy  house  without  worthiness  of  our  own. 
We  have  spoiled  every  day  of  the  week.  We  have  sent  back  every  mo- 
ment to  thee,  stained  with  some  evil.  We  have  not  seen  thee  in  all  the 
way  of  our  life  as  we  ought  to  have  done.  We  have  imagined  thee  to  be 
absent  when  thou  wast  really  near  at  hand.  We  have  broken  the  two 
tables  of  the  law.  We  have  done  despite  to  the  Spirit  of  thy  grace.  We 
have  grieved  the  Spirit.  There  is  no  sin  we  have  not  attempted,  and  our 
success  is  our  ruin.  Thou  art  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of 
all  men.  He  has  disclosed  thee  to  us  as  the  God  of  pardon,  and  grace, 
and  tender  love.  Infinite  in  righteousness,  yet  boundless  in  mercy. 
Stern  as  thine  own  law,  yet  tender  with  unutterable  love.  To  thee  we 
want  all  to  come  ;  and  the  least  and  feeblest  standing  back  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  host  would  feel  after  thee  by  a  spirit  of  reverent  inquiry. 
Oh  !  that  we  knew  the  place  where  we  might  find  thee  ;  our  hearts  desire 
one  look  of  thy  glory.  This  we  could  not  bear,  but  thou  wilt  surely 
cause  thy  goodness  to  pass  before  us.  Show  us  the  unseen  day.  Teach 
us  that  this  light  we  now  see  is  but  the  dim  emblem  of  the  further  glory, 
infinite  in  lustre,  which  makes  the  very  burning  and  splendour  of  heaven. 
Help  us  to  see  the  unseen  meaning  of  all  things  ;  so  that  in  time  we  may 
see  the  going  of  eternity,  so  that  above  the  clouds  we  may  see  the  shin- 
ing home  of  the  good,  and  across  the  roaring  flood  may  see  the  green 
shores  of  the  everlasting  garden. 

We  come  with  our  psalm  of  adoration,  our  hymn  of  praise,  our  anthem 
of  triumph,  our  chant  of  holy  delight.  Few  and  poor  are  the  offerings 
we  bring,  but  we  bring  them  by  the  way  of  the  cross,  and  they  are 


138  ACTS  VI.  9-15. 


enlarged  into  sacrifices  and  are  made  precious  by  the  baptism  of  blood. 
We  remember  all  the  way  along  which  we  have  come,  sometimes  a  weary 
way,  hot  because  of  the  scorching  sun,  cold  because  of  the  wintry  wind, 
often  up  hill,  and  then  steeply  down  again,  with  turns  sudden,  and  preci- 
pices deep  and  threatening,  so  that  we  cannot  tell  whether  we  shall  arrive 
at  home.  Yet  there  we  shall  surely  arrive,  because  we  do  not  guide  our 
own  way  ;  the  reins  are  not  in  our  hands  ;  the  Lord  is  sovereign,  and  all 
things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  him.  Thou  dost  teach 
us  in  many  ways.  Thou  dost  make  us  strangers  and  foreigners  in  our 
own  land.  Thou  takest  away  the  friend  that  made  the  land  our  home. 
Thou  dost  suddenly  put  out  with  a  great  flood  the  fire  at  which  our  friend- 
ship warmed  itself.  The  grave  holds  all  that  is  precious  of  our  social  life. 
So  dost  thou  make  the  old  man  long  for  heaven.  He  does  not  know 
those  who  touch  him,  nor  is  he  known  by  them.  His  history  is  a  sealed 
book,  and  he  longs  to  rejoin  those  who  can  go  over  the  pages  with  him. 
Thou  hast  given  unto  us  a  strange  life,  full  of  mystery,  full  of  pain, 
brightened  with  occasional  lights,  thrilling  with  occasional  joys,  and  then 
a  great  burden,  an  infinite  blackness,  a  night  without  a  star  to  break  its 
gloom.  Lord,  be  pitiful  and  kind  unto  us  all  in  Christ  Jesus.  Spare  us 
a  little  while  that  our  repentance  may  be  made  complete,  and  our  contri- 
tion may  shed  its  last  tear  of  regret  and  pain  over  days  mis-spent. 

Undertake  all  our  life  for  us,  make  us  rich  or  poor,  put  us  in  chariots 
of  gold,  or  thrust  us  into  the  dark  corner  ;  give  us  purple  and  fine  linen, 
and  fare  most  sumptuous  every  day,  or  shut  us  out  of  the  castle  and  make 
us  lie  at  the  gate,  hungry  and  weary,  desolate  and  full  of  sorrow,  as  thou 
wilt,  but  in  all  the  process  give  us  the  sweet  sense  of  thy  nearness  as 
purifier  of  our  life.  The  Lord  made  the  great  sky  like  shining  wings 
stretched  over  us  in  sign  of  infinite  protection.  In  every  wind  that  blows 
may  we  now  catch  some  odour  of  heaven.  As  the  days  come  and  go  with 
hastening  rapidity,  give  us  to  feel  that  they  do  but  bring  the  nearer  and 
the  sooner  the  house  of  liberty  and  the  land  of  summer.     Amen. 

Acts  vi.  9-15. 

9.  Then  [rather,  Bnt\  there  arose  certain  of  the  synagogue,  which  is 
called  the  synagogue  of  the  Libertines,  \Jibertini,  freedmen]  and  Cyreni- 
ans,  and  Alexandrians,  [Jews  resident  in  Alexandria]  and  of  them  of 
Cilicia  [at  the  south-east  corner  of  Asia  Minor.  Chief  town.  Tarsus]  and 
of  Asia,  disputing  with  Stephen. 

10.  And  they  were  not  able  to  resist  the  wisdom  and  the  spirit  by 
which  he  spake. 

11.  Then  they  suborned  \?)\x\iorn— provide ,  but  nearly  always  in  a  bad 
sense]  men,  which  said,  We  have  heard  him  speak  blasphemous  words 
against  Moses,  and  against  God. 

12.  And  they  stirred  up  the  people,  and  the  elders,  and  the  scribes,  and 
came  upon  him,  and  caught  him,  and  brought  him  to  the  council, 


TWOFOLD   CHARACTER.  139 

13.  And  set  up  false  witnesses,  which  said,  This  man  ccaseth  not  to 
speak  blasphemous  words  against  this  holy  place  [the  Temple  was  the 
object  of  great  admiration  and  pride]  and  the  law  : 

14.  For  we  have  heard  him  say,  that  this  Jesus  of  Nazareth  shall  de- 
stroy this  place,  and  shall  change  the  customs  which  Moses  delivered  us. 

15.  And  all  that  sat  in  the  council,  looking  steadfastly  on  him,  saw  his 
face  as  it  had  been  the  face  of  an  angel. 


THE  TRIAL  OF  STEPHEN. 

IN  the  8th  verse  you  will  find  the  twofold  and  complete  char- 
acter of  Stephen,  The  verse  divides  itself  into  two  parts,  and 
so  gives  the  two  phases  of  Stephen' s  great  character.  First  of  all, 
he  was  "  full  of  faith  and  power."  That  was  his  spiritual  condi- 
tion. His  inner  life  was  made  up  of  these  two  elements.  Instead 
of  "faith"  read  "grace,"  and  then  the  representation  will  be 
"  Stephen,  full  of  grace  and  power."  Not  c// power,  so  as  lo  be 
stern,  tyrannous,  overwhelming,  but  also  characterized  by  gracCy 
tenderness,  love,  geniality,  sympathy,  gentleness.  Not  all  gxdLce, 
lest  he  should  be  mistaken  as  a  mere  sentimentalist,  a  man  who 
uttered  beautiful  words  without  deep  meanings,  and  who  contented 
himself  with  exquisite  expressions  without  seeking  their  realization 
in  the  sterner  qualities  of  character.  Stephen  was  by  so  much  a 
complete  man  ;  full  of  grace  and  full  of  power.  Approach  him 
on  the  one  side  of  his  character,  and  you  would  suppose  he  was 
"  all  tears  ;"  so  soft  was  the  touch  of  his  hand,  so  gentle  and  ten- 
der the  glance  of  his  eye,  so  winsome  his  smile,  that  you  would 
suppose  it  impossible  for  such  a  man  ever  to  utter  one  sharp  or 
harsh  word.  Approach  him  on  the  other  side  of  his  nature,  he 
was  stern,  unbending,  rigorous,  insisting  upon  right  and  justice, 
and  utterly  unaware  of  the  sentiment  or  practice  of  concession. 
Read  again  the  second  part  of  the  8th  verse,  and  you  find  Stephen 
"  did  great  wonders  and  miracles  among  the  people."  That  was 
his  outer  life.  Mark  the  beautiful  correspondence  between  the 
spiritual  and  the  active.  The  one  accounts  for  the  other.  With  less 
of  a  spiritual  quality  there  would  have  been  less  of  social  demon- 
stration and  influence.  The  "  wonder"  was  not  a  trick  of  the 
hand ;  it  was  an  expression  of  the  deep  spiritual  history  of  the  soul's 
life.  The  "  miracle"  was  not  painted  on  a  board  ;  it  flamed  forth 
from  an  inner  and  sacred  fire. 


140  ACTS  VI.  9-15. 


This  description  of  Stephen  should  be  the  description  of  the 
Christian  Church.  Not  a  Une  can  be  added  to  this  picture.  It 
does  not  admit  of  an  additional  line  of  colour  that  can  add  to  its 
ineffable  beauteousness.  In  this  verse,  then,  we  find  a  complete 
delineation  of  the  Christian  tnan  and  of  the  Christian  Church. 

We  do  no  wonders  and  miracles.  Why  ?  Because  we  have  so 
little  faith,  or  grace,  and  power.  We  have  concerned  ourselves  in 
looking  at  the  wrong  end  of  this  business.  We  have  been  wanting 
more  "wonders"  and  more  "miracles"  instead  of  looking  into 
the  inner  condition  of  the  heart  in  its  most  secret  recesses.  Make 
the  tree  good,  and  the  fruit  will  be  good.  Bestow  the  faith  and 
the  power,  and  the  wonders  and  the  miracles  will  come  by  the 
force  of  a  happy  and  gracious  sequence.  They  never  come  alone. 
Things  that  look  like  wonders  and  miracles  may  come— the  grim 
irony — but  not  until  we  have  the  faith  and  the  power  will  our 
palsied  right  hand  be  plucked  out  of  our  breast  to  lift  the  Lord's 
royal  banner  high  in  the  thickening  fight. 

This  becomes  a  question  of  serious  import  to  us,  whether  we 
have  not  been  looking  at  this  business  at  the  wrong  end,  looking 
about  for  effects,  instead  of  inquiring  into  the  causes ;  touching 
with  regretful  look,  the  cheek  so  pale,  instead  of  feeding  the  fire 
of  the  heart.  This,  then,  is  Stephen,  the  man  who  is  for  a  little 
while  to  figure  so  largely  and  nobly  in  our  outlook. 

Compare  him  with  the  men  that  assailed  him.  Thei'r  character 
is  also  divisible  into  two  parts.  First  of  all,  they  were  controversial, 
they  "  disputed  "  with  Stephen.  Controversy  is  not  Christianity. 
It  is  most  difficult  for  any  man  to  be  both  a  debater  and  a  Chris- 
tian. The  spirit  of  debate  is  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  love.  It 
delights  in  victory.  It  gets  itself  up  for  occasions.  It  addresses 
itself  to  technicalities,  and  to  transient  details.  It  is  clever  in  the 
trick  of  words.  It  seizes  with  eagerness  upon  an  epithet  misap- 
plied. Debate  is  sometimes  large,  noble,  magnanimous,  inspired, 
self-sacrificing,  self-forgetting.  So  long  as  the  Church  was. in  the 
era  of  suffering  she  had  no  time  for  debate.  Her  controversies 
were  then  fights  for  life.  They  were  not  fencings  in  words,  small 
duels,  paper  wars,  column  of  abuse  answering  some  other 
column  of  abuse.  The  Christian  life  is  always  a  controversy  ;  but 
"  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities, 
against  powers,. against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world." 


THE  DANGER   OF  CONTROVERSY.  141 

Let  us  all  beware  of  the  spirit  of  controversy,  which  delights  in  the 
rearrangement  of  words  and  forgets  that  Christianity  is  a  sacrifice, 
a  life  of  obedience,  an  offering  up  of  the  whole  nature  to  the 
Divine  will,  to  be  inspired  and  sanctified  by  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Being  controversial,  the  enemies  of  Stephen  were  also,  as  if  by 
a  necessary  logic,  unjust.  Injustice  and  controversy  are  twins. 
The  enemies  of  Stephen  "suborned"  men — hired  and  primed 
men  to  tell  lies  ;  instructed  men  to  utter  false  words  ;  bribed  them 
to  commit  spiritual  suicide.  This  is  the  almost  necessary  direction 
of  all  controversy.  Controversy  seems  to  make  up  its  mind  to 
win.  The  aim  of  debate  is  not  to  secure  truth,  but  to  secure  some 
petty  triumph,  or  to  carry  out  to  its  melancholy  end  some  rooted 
prejudice,  or  some  discreditable  antipathy.  This  is  my  fear  of 
some  collateral  institutions  which  are  formed  in  Christian 
churches.  I  do  not  take  special  delight  in  the  formation  of  men 
into  companies  for  the  purpose  of  debating.  There  are  limits 
within  which  debate  may  be  conducted  to  high  intellectual  advan- 
tage ;  but  whoever  enters  upon  a  course  of  debate  merely  as  such, 
and  merely  for  the  purpose  of  striving  in  words,  without  having  as 
a  supreme  end  and  purpose  the  illumination  of  the  subject  with 
a  view  to  knowing,  loving,  accepting,  and  obeying  the  truth,  puts 
his  spiritual  life  to  a  severe  strain.  The  temptation  is  a  strong 
one.  It  is  particularly  strong  in  the  time  of  youth.  Who  does 
not  love  to  hear  the  echoing  applause  which  follows  a  smart  reply, 
a  happy  retort,  an  unexpected  and  felicitous  criticism  }  There 
may  be  no  harm  in  such  applause,  within  given  limits  ;  but  the 
man  who  is  the  subject  and  occasion  of  it  may  be  urged  on  to 
further  lengths  in  w^hich  he  will  find  nothing  but  danger  and  ulti- 
mate discomfiture.  The  enemies  of  Christianity,  as  represented 
by  these  men,  were  mere  controversialists — trying  to  find  flaws  in 
the  statement  and  reasoning  and  conduct  of  the  argument  :  they 
were  not  inquirers  after  truth,  pledged  to  find  it,  and  bound  to 
obey  its  mandate.  To  hear  men  controvert  and  dispute  about 
Christian  truth,  one  would  suppose  to  be  a  sign  of  intense  earnest- 
ness  and  sincerity.  You  will  always  find  behind  intellectual 
hostility  to  Christianity  an  explanatory  moral  condition.  A  man 
who  does  not  love  the  light  will  use  any  excuse  for  getting  out  of 
it.  Christianity  disdains  to  accept  any  merely  intellectual  homage. 
Christianity  will  not  be  called  astute,  well-contrived,  admirably- 


142  ACTS  VI.  9-15. 


adapted,  keen  of  insight,  and  potent  in  eloquence.  Christianity 
comes  among  men  to  save  them,  by  first  humbling  them  into 
penitence,  breaking  them  down  with  contrition,  causing  them  to 
burn  with  penitential  shame,  and  then  leading  them  to  reverent 
thought — only  out  of  death  can  life  come,  and  only  by  sacrifice  is 
exaltation. 

Further  looking  into  the  case,  you  will  observe  the  danger  which 
often  accrues  to  truth  from  its  supposed  friends.  You  find  men  say- 
ing, "  We  have  heard  Stephen  speak  blasphemous  words  against 
Moses  and  against  God."  Imagine  the  irony  of  such  men  sup- 
posing that  they  could  distinguish  between  orthodoxy  and  hetero- 
doxy !  This  is  one  of  the  earliest  instances  in  the  Christian  Church 
of  heresy-hunting.  Once  for  all,  let  us  lay  it  down  as  an  impos- 
sibility that  bad  men  are  judges  of  truth  and  falsehood.  Men  who 
had  accepted  a  bribe  came  up  to  defend  orthodoxy  !  We  have 
heard  it  said  more  than  once  that  "  such  and  such  a  man  may  not 
be  morally  all  that  he  ought  to  be,  but  he  knows  the  truth  when 
he  hears  it."  No  !  No  bad  man  knows  the  truth.  No  man  with 
a  lie  in  his  right  hand  can  tell  whether  the  sermon  was  good  or 
bad.  These  are  the  pains  to  which  rectitude  of  opinion  has  been 
subjected,  that  righteousness  in  doctrine  should  be  judged  by 
unrighteousness  in  conduct.  No  man  who  keeps  a  false  balance 
can  tell  whether  the  doctrine  was  orthodox  or  heterodox — as  no 
blind  man  can  tell  whether  the  colour  was  ardent  or  subdued. 
Some  of  you  are  probably  hardly  aware  that  in  some  cases  bad 
men  go  to  churches  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  whether  the 
doctrine  is  orthodox  !  This  is  an  irony  that  would  not  be  allowed 
on  common  ground.  No  blind  man  will  be  appointed  as  a  judge 
of  pictures  in  the  Academy  this  year  or  any  other  year  ;  no  deaf 
man  will  be  appointed  to  adjudge  the  merits  of  competitive 
students  in  music.  But  a  bad  man  goes  to  church,  and  ventures 
upon  an  opinion  as  to  the  orthodoxy  or  heterodoxy  of  the  preacher, 
and  says,  with  intolerable  impertinence,  that  he  himself  may  not 
be  what  he  ought  to  be,  but  he  knows  the  truth  when  he  hears  it  ! 
I  would  say,  shame  be  upon  him— only  that  he  has  passed  out  of 
the  region  of  shame  altogether,  and  is  not  worthy  of  the  dignified 
condemnation  he  would  othenvise  deserve.  Who  dares  arise  in 
the  Church  of  -Christ  and  say,  this  man  is  orthodox — that  man  is 


THE  SILENT  VINDICATION.  143 

heterodox  ?  Who  after  drinking  wine  up  to  the  point  of  dizziness, 
and  eating  beyond  the  boundary  of  gluttony,  and  grasping  with 
both  hands  as  iron  avarice  only  can  grasp— will  dare  to  say  where 
orthodoxy  begins  and  ends  ?  What  is  your  life  ?  What  is  your 
spirit  ?  What  are  your  wonders  and  miracles  ?  And  what  is  the 
interior  condition  of  heart  which  explains  them  ?  These  are  the 
questions  that  ought  to  be  answered  ;  when  men  who  listen  to 
doctrine  and  examine  Christian  argument  are  pure  of  heart,  true, 
and  upright  of  mind,  noble  in  spirit,  catholic  in  sympathy — the 
one  man  that  will  be  dreaded  more  than  another  is  the  man  who 
imagines  that  he  was  fated  by  heaven  to  find  out  the  heterodoxy 
of  other  people. 

They  said,  "  We  have  heard  him  speak  blasphemous  words 
against  Moses  and  against  God  !"  The  men  who  had  just  put  a 
bribe  into  their  pockets  were  horrified  at  the  blasphemy  of  another 
man  !  Those  who  had  done  blasphemy  were  horrified  at  the  man 
who  had  only  spoken  it  !  Search  into  narrow,  envenomed,  and 
ignoble  criticism  in  every  age,  and  you  will  find  that  the  men  M'ho 
speak  most  against  blasphemy  in  doctrine  are  often  the  men  who 
could  not  live  otherwise  than  by  telling  lies. 

What  was  Stephen's  condition  at  the  time  .?  Hearing  these  lies 
spoken  about  him,  he  will  surely  spring  from  his  seat  and  indig- 
nantly deny  the  impeachment  !  Some  men  say  they  "  cannot  sit 
still  and  hear  false  statements  about  themselves."  If  they  were 
greater  men  they  would  learn  the  art  of  patience.  Great  bodies 
are  calm.  Stephen  sat  still,  but  his  face  gleamed  like  an  angel. 
Could  you  have  seen  the  other  faces — with  the  significant  leer,  the 
harsh  mouths,  and  the  unresponsive  features — you  would  have 
known,  without  hearing  the  defence,  who  was  right  and  who  was 
wrong.     Would  that  we  could  look  more  and  say  less  ! 

If  we  could  watch  the  accused  and  the  accuser,  we  should  very 
rarely  call  upon  the  defendant  for  his  case.  I  have  heard  a  debate 
in  which,  judging  merely  by  the  tone  and  facial  expression,  and 
the  graciousness  oi  manner  of  the  speakers,  I  should  have  supposed 
that  the  Christian  was  the  Atheist  and  the  Atheist  the  Christian. 
The  man  who  undertakes  to  advocate  Christianity  without  the 
Christian  light,  the  Christian  voice,  the  Christian  expression,  is  a 
man  who  has  undertaken  the  cause  at  other  bidding  than  God's. 

The  face  of  Stephen  shone  like  the  face  of  an  angel.     This  is 


144  ACTS  VI.  9-15. 


typical  of  character.  Whenever  character  is  under  the  influence 
of  Christian  inspiration  it  shiyies.  *'  Ye  are  the  Hght  of  the  world," 
It  is  typical  also  of  the  resurrection,  the  last  grand  miracle  that 
shall  be  performed  upon  these  common  bodies.  The  face  once 
dull  shall  be  lighted  up  with  an  inward  light  that  shall  transfigure 
it  into  nobility  and  gracious  expressiveness.  "It  doth  not  yet 
appear  what  we  shall  be."  Christianity  never  takes  hold  of  any 
man  without  making  him  a  new  creature,  and  without  investing 
him,  I  would  say,  with  new  beauty,  nobility,  and  occasionally  even 
splendour  of  expression.  Not  beauty  by  the  rules  of  art,  but  a 
subtle,  spiritual,  mar\'ellous,  argumentative  beauty  that  carries 
with  it  its  own  exposition  and  defence.  But  whether  this  can  take 
place  in  the  body  or  not,  it  always  takes  place  in  the  character, 
and  the  character  determines  the  man. 

The  modern  uses  of  this  incident  I  have  not  failed  altogether  to 
indicate  in  the  course  of  these  remarks.  But  if  you  would  hear 
more  about,  its  modern  uses,  let  me  tell  you  we  can  a// be  full  of 
faith  or  grace,  and  we  can  all  do  miracles  and  wonders. 

I  cannot  believe  the  ages  are  living  backward.  I  never  could 
accept  the  suggestion  that  the  world  is  getting  less  advanced,  less 
glorious,  less  competent,  than  men  were  three  thousand  or  two 
thousand  years  ago.  Why,  this  would  be  an  inversion  that  would 
constitute  the  deadliest  of  all  arguments  against  Christian  inspira- 
tion and  Divine  supremacy.  We  can  all  do  miracles,  wonders, 
and  mighty  deeds.  Perhaps  some  of  us  only  needed  the  sugges- 
tion, as  the  fuel  in  the  cold  grate  only  needs  the  spark  to  make  it 
glow  and  burn.  We  have  been  too  content  to  sit  down  under  the 
impression  that  miracles  and  wonders  and  signs  have  all  ceased, 
and  that  the  world  is  now  living  towards  a  dvvindling  point  instead 
of  expanding  into  wider  development.  What  a  wonder  it  would 
be,  for  example,  if  some  of  us  ever  helped  a  fellow-creature  under 
any  circumstances  whatsoever  !  That  wonder  is  possible  to  you. 
What  a  wonder  it  would  be  for  some  of  us  could  we  ever  be  met 
in  a  good  humour  !  What  an  astonishing  miracle  to  be  really 
good,  magnanimous,  sympathetic  !  Not  with  a  painted  smile 
upon  the  mocking  face,  but  a  laugh  from  the  heart,  diffusing  itself 
all  over  the  gladdened  and  shining  countenance  !  What  a  "  won- 
der" it  would  be  for  some  of  us  to  ever  give  a  sovereign  to  any 
good  cause  upon  earth  1     Wonders,  miracles,  signs  I     Why,  the 


MIRACLES  POSSIBLE  NOW. 


145 


difficulty  is  to  escape  them  !  What  a  wonder  it  would  be  if  some 
of  us  could  be  patient  under  suffering  !  If  they  could  honestly 
say  downstairs,  "  He  suffers  much,  but  he  is  nobly  patient ;  very 
thankful  ;  and  it  is  a  means  of  grace  to  be  near  him  !" 

You  thought  the  age  of  ' '  wonders' '  was  passed,  because  the 
merely  introductory  signs  have  disappeared  !  The  blossom  is  gone 
that  the  fruit  may  come.  And  we  of  these  latter  times  are  called 
to  exhibit  the  wonder  of  a  disciplined  character,  the  marvel  of  a 
sanctified  temper,  the  glittering  phenomenon  of  a  truly  obedient 
sonship. 

Who  then  will  do  wonders  and  miracles  and  signs  in  the  name 
of  Christ  ?  What  a  wonder  it  would  be  for  some  of  us  \.o  forgive. 
It  is  hard  for  some  of  us  to  pardon.  We  pardon  with  reservations 
and  qualifications,  and  with  long  parentheses,  and  the  liberty  of 
construing  which  we  reserve  to  ourselves.  Forgiveness  with  a 
parenthesis  is  no  forgiveness,  but  an  aggravation  of  the  original 
obduracy.  The  bolder  heroism  which  gives  history  new  themes, 
and  makes  the  poet's  lyre  quiver  into  new  music,  it  is  not  for  us 
in  these  days  to  realize.  There  is  now  no  persecutor  to  ' '  drag 
us  into  fame  and  chase  us  up  to  heaven. ' '  The  fagot  and  the  axe 
are  words  faint  as  echoes  in  the  immemorial  past.  But  we  can 
toil  with  loving  diligence  ;  we  can  suffer  with  uncomplaining 
patience  ;  in  the  morning  we  can  sow  our  seed,  and  in  the  evening 
we  can  still  be  busy  in  the  field  ;  we  can  stifle  the  hot  word  of 
passion,  and  extend  the  warm  hand  of  forgiveness  ;  to  the  blind 
we  can  be  as  eyes,  and  to  the  dumb  as  a  tongue  of  noble 
eloquence  !  A  thousand  acts  of  charity  may  glitter  in  our  daily 
life,  like  dew  transfigured  by  the  sun.  In  ways  so  modest,  yet  so 
useful — so  unknown  on  earth,  and  yet  so  prized  in  heaven — it  is 
possible  for  us  to  show  that  Jesus  Christ  is  not  merely  a  figure  in 
the  horizon  of  the  religious  imagination,  but  the  living  power  of 
the  renewed  and  adoring  heart     To  such  miracles  let  us  rise. 


XVI. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  do  not  know  thy  way  :  it  is  in  the  sea,  it  is  in  the 
great  waters,  it  is  in  the  midst  of  the  firmament  of  heaven,  and  the  clouds 
are  the  dust  of  thy  feet,  and  thine  eye  shineth  like  lightning  from  the  east 
even  to  the  west.  We  have  heard  of  thee,  and  our  hearts  have  trembled 
with  fear.  We  have  thought  of  thee,  and  our  spirits  have  glowed  with 
love.  Sometimes  clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  thee  ;  sometimes 
the  light  is  thy  robe.  We  cannot  tell  what  thou  art,  or  what  thou  wilt  be 
to  us  at  any  moment,  but  this  great  prayer  we  can  utter  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  sacrifice  :  Give  us  thy  Holy  Spirit,  and  it  shall  be  well  with  us. 
Let  thy  grace  dwell  in  our  hearts,  beautiful  as  a  guiding  cloud  in  the  day- 
time, radiant  and  warm  as  a  flame  of  fire  in  the  night  season.  If  our 
hearts  are  filled  with  thy  grace,  there  shall  be  no  room  for  the  enemy. 
Fill  our  hearts  with  thy  truth,  and  our  minds  with  thy  light,  as  thy  truth 
and  thy  light  are  known  in  the  Son  of  God,  and  in  our  soul  there  shall  be 
the  seal  of  heaven. 

We  thank  thee  for  thy  book,  so  grand  in  doctrine,  so  wondrous  in  its 
outlook,  so  tender  in  its  benedictions,  so  beautiful  in  all  its  gospels. 
May  we  know  it,  love  it,  reproduce  it  in  our  lives,  and  show  that  we  are 
men  in  whom  is  the  indwelling  and  inspiring  God.  May  our  life  be  a 
secret  like  thine  own  ;  may  men  take  knowledge  of  us  that  we  have  been 
with  Jesus  and  have  learned  of  him.  May  we  surprise  them  not  by  our 
information,  but  by  our  wisdom.  Behind  and  above  all  that  we  say, 
may  there  be  a  mystery  of  light  and  of  love,  not  to  be  solved  by  the  com- 
mon understanding.  May  we  in  Christ,  thy  Son,  our  Saviour,  have  bread 
that  the  world  knoweth  not  of,  and  of  the  fulness  of  grace  may  we  eat  and 
drink  abundantly  day  by  day.  Thou  hast  led  us  out  of  sin,  and  through 
a  long  wilderness  of  education  and  discipline.  Lead  us  into  Canaan's 
gardens,  into  the  wider  liberty,  into  the  ampler  spaces,  and  may  our 
souls  enjoy  all  the  comfort  and  hope  of  spiritual  freedom.  Give  us  un- 
derstanding of  thy  word.  Show  us  how  thy  book  is  full  of  seed  ;  show 
us  that  nothing  in  thy  book  has  come  to  fruition  ;  that  we  have  in  thy 
book  the  great  seed  house.  May  we  sow  the  seed  in  good  and  honest 
hearts,  and  may  it  be  watered  with  dew  from  heaven,  warmed  by  the  sun 
of  thy  righteousness  and  love,  and  may  it  bring  forth  not  only  according 
to  its  kind,  but  according  to  the  kind  of  soil  in  which  it  is  sown.  Then 
shall  thy  church  be  a  beautiful  garden,  a  wondrous  landscape  with  all 


THE  ANNOTATED  TEXT.  147 

beauteous  growths  adorning  and  enriching  it,  and  heaven  will  smile  to 
see  a  world  so  blest. 

Thou  knowest  us  altogether,  our  sharpest  pain,  our  dullest  care,  the 
anxiety  that  gnaws  the  inmost  heart,  the  joy  that  sings  in  the  spring  air 
like  a  bird,  the  hope  that  lures  us  with  heavenly  persuasion  on  to  some 
nobler  conquest  and  greater  peace.  According  to  our  necessity  and  vari- 
ous condition,  do  thou  now  command  thy  blessing  to  rest  upon  every 
soul.  We  thank  thee  for  all  thy  love  ;  it  comes  before  the  rising  of  the 
sun,  it  remains  through  the  shining  of  the  stars,  it  is  never  withheld.  We 
live  upon  it  ;  without  it  we  must  needs  die.  Show  us  that  though  we  are 
here  but  for  a  little  while  thou  art  preparing  us  for  great  revelations  and 
supreme  destinies  ;  and  in  view  of  the  joy  that  has  yet  to  be,  may  we  for- 
get our  little  sorrows,  may  our  woes  be  lost  in  the  sea  of  gladness  which 
thou  hast  prepared  for  us. 

The  Lord  hold  the  light  above  his  own  book  whilst  we  read  it.  The 
Lord  cause  a  light  to  shine  out  of  the  book  whilst  we  peruse  it.  The 
Lord  turn  over  the  pages  with  his  own  fingers.  The  Lord  whisper  to  us 
the  meaning  of  the  spirit  whilst  we  read  the  letter.  The  Lord  speak  to 
us  from  the  cross  of  forgiveness,  pardon,  absolution,  complete,  entire, 
final  ;  and  to  the  release  of  forgiveness  add  the  joy  of  sanctification. 
Amen. 

Acts  vii.  1-53. 

1.  Then  said  the  high  priest,  Are  these  things  so  ? 

2.  And  he  said,  Men,  [omit  Meii\  brethren,  and  fathers,  hearken  ;  The 
God  of  glory  [the  term  is  applied  to  the  Incarnate  Word,  John  i.  14]  ap- 
peared unto  our  father  [Stephen  if  even  a  proselyte  might  use  this  expres- 
sion] Abraham,  when  he  was  in  Mesopotamia,  [his  ancestral  home  was 
called  Ur  of  the  Chaldees]  before  he  dwelt  [the  Greek  word  implies  a  set- 
tled residence]  in  Charran, 

3.  And  said  unto  him.  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kin- 
dred, and  come  into  the  land  which  I  shall  shew  thee.  [The  destination 
of  the  emigrants  was  known  before  they  started  from  Ur.] 

4.  Then  came  he  out  of  the  land  of  the  Chaldaeans,  [with  Babylon  for 
its  capital]  and  dwelt  in  Charran  :  and  from  thence,  when  his  father  was 
dead,  he  removed  [caused  him  to  migrate]  him  into  this  land,  wherein  ye 
now  dwell. 

5.  And  he  gave  him  none  inheritance  in  it,  no,  not  so  much  as  to  set 
his  foot  on  :  yet  he  promised  that  he  would  give  it  to  him  for  a  posses- 
sion, and  to  his  seed  after  him,  when  as  yet  he  had  no  child. 

6.  And  God  spake  on  this  wise,  [Gen.  xv.  13,  14]  That  his  seed  should 
sojourn  in  a  strange  land  ;  and  that  they  should  bring  them  into  bond- 
age, and  entreat  them  evil  four  hundred  years. 

7.  And  the  nation  to  whom  they  shall  be  in  bondage  will  I  judge,  said 
God  :  and  after  that  shall  they  come  forth,  [with  great  substance]  and 


148  ACTS  VII.  I -S3. 


serve  me  in  this  place,  [these  words  are  not  in  the  promise  given  to 
Abraham,  but  are  taken  from  Exod.  iii.  12.] 

8.  And  he  gave  him  the  covenant  of  circumcision  :  [given  the  year  be- 
fore Isaac  was  born]  and  so  Abraham  begat  Isaac,  and  circumcised  him 
the  eighth  day  ;  and  Isaac  begat  Jacob  ;  and  Jacob  begat  the  twelve 
patriarchs. 

9.  And  the  patriarchs,  moved  with  envy,  [the  same  word  is  used  Acts 
xvii.  5]  sold  Joseph  into  Egypt  :  but  God  was  with  him,  [the  argument 
being  that  as  God's  presence  is  not  circumscribed,  neither  should  his  wor- 
ship be  confined  to  place]. 

10.  And  delivered  him  out  of  all  his  afflictions,  and  gave  him  favour 
and  wisdom  in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt  ;  and  he  made  him 
governor  over  Egypt  and  all  his  house. 

11.  Now  there  came  a  dearth  over  all  the  land  of  Egypt  [the  oldest 
MSS.  omit  the  land  of  "]  and  Chanaan,  and  great  affliction  :  and  our 
fathers  found  no  sustenance. 

12.  But  when  Jacob  heard  that  there  was  corn  in  Egypt,  he  sent  out 
our  fathers  first  [before  he  himself  went  away  from  Canaan  into  Egypt]. 

13.  And  at  the  second  time  Joseph  was  made  known  to  his  brethren  ; 
and  Joseph's  kindred  was  made  known  unto  Pharaoh. 

14.  Then  sent  Joseph,  and  called  his  father  Jacob  to  him,  and  all  his 
kindred,  threescore  and  fifteen  souls. 

15.  So  Jacob  went  down  into  Egypt,  and  died,  he,  and  our  fathers, 

16.  And  were  carried  over  into  Sychem,  [Shechem]  and  laid  in  the 
sepulchre  that  Abraham  bought  for  a  sum  of  money  of  the  sons  of  Emmor 
the  father  of  Sychem. 

17.  But  when  [as]  the  time  of  the  promise  drew  nigh,  which  God  had 
sworn  [vouchsafed]   to  Abraham,    the   people   grew  and   multiplied   in 

Egypt. 

18.  Till  another  king  arose,  which  knew  not  Joseph. 

iq.  The  same  dealt  subtilly  with  our  kindred,  and  evil  entreated 
["  made  them  to  cut  a  great  many  channels  for  the  river,  and  set  them  to 
build  pyramids,  forced  them  to  learn  all  sorts  of  mechanical  arts,  and  to 
accustom  themselves  to  hard  M!oo\xx. "'^Josephus?^  our  fathers,  so  that 
they  cast  out  their  young  children,  to  the  end  they  might  not  live, 

20.  In  which  time  Moses  was  born,  and  was  exceeding  fair,  and  nour- 
ished up  in  his  father's  house  three  months  : 

21.  And  when  he  was  cast  out,  Pharaoh's  daughter  took  him  up,  and 
nourished  him  for  her  own  son. 

22.  And  Moses  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians,  and 
was  mighty  in  words  and  in  deeds. 

23.  And  when  he  was  full  forty  years  old,  [the  verb  in  the  original  inti- 
mates that  the  forty  years  were  just  being  completed]  it  came  into  his 
heart  to  visit  his  brethren  the  children  of  Israel. 

24.  And  seeing  one  of  them  suffer  wrong,  he  defended  him,  and 
avenged  him  that  was  oppressed,  and  smote  the  Egyptian  : 


THE  ANNOTATED   TEXT.  149 

25.  For  he  supposed  his  brethren  would  have  understood  how  that  God 
by  his  hand  would  deliver  them  :  but  they  understood  not. 

26.  And  the  next  day  he  showed  himself  unto  them  as  they  strove,  and 
would  have  set  them  at  one  again,  saying,  Sirs,  ye  are  brethren  ;  why  do 
ye  wrong  one  to  another  ? 

27.  But  he  that  did  his  neighbour  wrong  thrust  him  away,  saying,  Who 
made  thee  a  ruler  and  a  judge  over  us  ? 

28.  Wilt  thou  kill  me,  as  thou  diddest  the  Egyptian  yesterday? 

29.  Then  fled  Moses  at  this  saying,  and  was  a  stranger  in  the  land  of 
Madian,  [probably  the  peninsula  on  which  Mount  Sinai  stands]  where  he 
begat  two  sons  [Gersham  and  Eliezer]. 

30.  And  when  forty  years  [making  Moses  eighty  years  old]  were 
expired,  there  appeared  to  him  in  the  wilderness  of  mount  Sina  an  angel 
of  the  Lord  in  a  flame  of  fire  in  a  bush. 

31.  When  Moses  saw  it,  he  wondered  at  the  sight  :  and  as  he  drew 
near  to  behold  it,  the  voice  of  the  Lord  came  unto  him, 

32.  Saying,  I  am  the  God  of  thy  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the 
God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob.  Then  Moses  trembled,  and  durst 
not  behold. 

33.  Then  said  the  Lord  to  him.  Put  off  thy  shoes  from  thy  feet :  for 
the  place  where  thou  standest  is  holy  ground. 

34.  I  have  seen,  I  have  seen  [the  Greek  is  an  attempt  to  imitate  an  em- 
phatic Hebrew  construction,  and  is  literally  "  having  seen,  I  have  seen"] 
the  affliction  of  my  people  which  is  in  Egypt,  and  I  have  heard  their 
groaning,  and  am  come  down  to  deliver  them.  And  now  come,  I  will 
send  thee  into  Egypt. 

35.  This  Moses  whom  they  refused,  saying,  Who  made  thee  a  ruler 
and  a  judge  ?  the  same  did  God  send  [the  verb  is  in  the  perfect  tense  in 
the  original]  to  be  a  ruler  and  a  deliverer  by  the  hand  of  the  angel  which 
appeared  to  him  in  the  bush. 

36.  He  brought  them  out,  after  that  he  had  shewed  wonders  and  signs 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  in  the  Red  sea,  and  in  the  wilderness  forty 
years. 

37.  This  is  that  Moses,  which  said  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  A 
prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up  unto  you  of  your  brethren,  like 
unto  me  ;  him  shall  ye  hear. 

38.  This  is  he,  that  was  in  the  church  [congregation]  in  the  wilderness 
■with  the  angel  which  spake  to  him  in  the  mount  Sina,  and  with  our 
fathers  ;  who  received  the  lively  oracles  to  give  unto  us  : 

39.  To  whom  our  fathers  would  not  obey,  but  thrust  him  from  them, 
and  in  their  hearts  turned  back  again  into  Egypt, 

40.  Saying  unto  Aaron,  Make  us  gods  to  go  before  us  :  for  as  for  this 
Moses,  which  brought  us  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  we  wot  not  what  is 
become  of  him. 

41.  And  they  made  a  calf  in  those  days,  and  offered  sacrifice  unto  the 
idol,  and  rejoiced  in  the  works  of  their  own  hands. 


I50  ACTS  VII.  1-53. 


42.  Then  God  turned,  and  gave  them  up  to  worship  the  host  of 
heaven  ;  as  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  the  prophets,  O  ye  house  of  Israel, 
have  ye  offered  to  me  slain  beasts  and  sacrifices  by  the  space  of  forty 
years  in  the  wilderness  ? 

43.  Yea,  ye  took  up  the  tabernacle  of  Moloch,  and  the  star  of  your  god 
Remphan,  figures  which  ye  made  to  worship  them  :  and  I  will  carry  you 
away  beyond  Babylon. 

44.  Our  fathers  had  the  tabernacle  of  witness  in  the  wilderness,  as  he 
had  appointed,  speaking  unto  Moses,  that  he  should  make  it  according  to 
the  fashion  that  he  had  seen, 

45.  Which  also  our  fathers  that  came  after  brought  in  with  Jesus  into 
the  possession  of  the  Gentiles,  whom  God  drave  out  before  the  face  of  our 
fathers,  unto  the  days  of  David  ; 

46.  Who  found  favour  before  God,  and  desired  to  find  a  tabernacle  for 
the  God  of  Jacob. 

47.  But  Solomon  built  him  an  house. 

48.  Howbeit  the  most  High  dwelleth  net  in  temples  made  with  hands  ; 
as  saith  the  prophet, 

49.  Heaven  is  my  throne,  and  earth  is  my  footstool  :  what  house  will 
ye  build  me  ?  saith  the  Lord  :  or  what  is  the  place  of  my  rest  ? 

50.  Hath  not  my  hand  made  all  these  things  ? 

51.  Ye  stiff  necked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart  and  ears,  ye  do  always 
resist  the  Holy  Ghost  :  as  your  fathers  did,  so  do  ye. 

52.  Which  of  the  prophets  have  not  your  fathers  persecuted  ?  and  they 
have  slain  them  which  shewed  before  of  the  coming  of  the  Just  One  ;  of 
whom  ye  have  been  now  the  betrayers  and  murderers  : 

53.  Who  have  received  the  law  by  the  disposition  of  angels,  and  have 
not  kept  it. 

THE  DEFENCE   OF   STEPHEN. 

HOW  does  this  speech  happen  to  be  here  .?  It  is  a  long  one. 
Who  put  it  down  }  It  reads  like  a  verbatim  report  ;  who 
reported  it }  It  would  be  easy  for  the  memory  to  carry  a  sentence 
or  two  ;  but  who  could  record  so  long  and  so  highly-informed  a 
speech  as  the  one  which  is  given  in  this  chapter }  There  was  a 
young  man  listening  to  this  speech  with  no  friendly  ear.  His 
name  was  Saul.  It  is  supposed  that  afterward,  when  he  became 
Paul,  he  related  this  speech  to  Luke,,  who  wrote  it  in  this  form. 
It  is  not  a  correct  report.  No  man  can  report  chain  lightning. 
You  may  catch  a  little  here  and  there  of  such  eloquence,  but  the 
speech  itself,  in  all  the  elements  that  lifted  it  up  into  historic 
importance,  jt  was  not  in  the  power  of  memory  to  carry,  or  in  the 


UNCONSCIOUS  INFLUENCE.  151 

power  of  recollection  to  reproduce.  This  is  not  Stephen' s  speech, 
and  you  must  not  therefore  hold  him  responsible  for  it ;  they  did 
not  give  Stephen  an  opportunity  of  revising  his  speech.  He 
spoke,  and  they  hurried  him  on  ;  the  punctuation  did  not  undergo 
the  criticism  of  Stephen's  eye.  The  speech  itself  is  full  of  historic 
blunders  and  contradictions.  It  is  Saul's  recollection  of  Stephen's 
defence.  It  is  little  or  nothing  more.  You  have  only  to  compare 
the  Old  Testament  statements  with  the  statements  which  Stephen 
is  said  to  have  made,  and  you  will  see  at  once  discrepancy  after 
discrepancy,  and  in  one  or  two  cases  you  will  see  blank  and  palpa- 
ble contradiction.  This  gives  us  another  view  of  inspiration  than 
that  which  we  have  sometimes  too  narrowly  held.  The  speech  is 
true,  and  yet  not  factual.  What  is  said  here  is  Biblical,  but  not 
textual.  There  is  no  statement  here  made  that  is  not  spiritually 
true,  and  yet  there  are  few  sentences  in  the  elaborate  apology  that 
may  not  be  challenged  on  some  technical  ground.  Some  persons 
imagine  that  they  are  inspired  when  they  are  only  technical.  They 
forget  that  you  may  not  have  a  single  text  in  support  of  what  you 
are  stating,  and  yet  may  have  the  whole  Bible  in  defence  of  it. 
The  Bible  is  not  a  text,  it  is  a  tone  ;  it  is  not  a  piece  of  technical 
evidence,  it  is  an  inspiration,  a  wind  blowing  where  it  listeth,  to 
carry  with  it  everywhere  life,  and  freshness,  and  liberty. 

Looking  at  this  speech  therefore  not  as  a  verbatim  report,  but 
as  a  resume  given  by  an  unfriendly  hearer,  but  a  most  friendly 
reporter,  we  may  take  it  as  giving  the  principal  features  in  Stephen's 
character.  The  man  who  reported  this  speech  to  Luke  made  it  the 
basis  and  the  model  of  his  own  immortal  apologies.  Truly  we 
sometimes  borrow  from  unacknowledged  sources  ;  certainly  we  are 
sometimes  indebted  to  unknown  influences  for  some  of  our  best 
inspirations.  To  think  that  a  man  whom  they  appointed  with  six 
others  to  watch  over  the  ministration  of  tables  should  have  become 
the  first  Christian  martyr  apologist,  and  should  have  given  the 
model  for  the  greatest  speeches  ever  delivered  by  man,  namely,  the 
speeches  of  Paul  himself  when  put  upon  his  trial  and  defence,  is 
surely  a  very  miracle  of  Providence  !  How  little  Stephen  knew 
what  he  was  doing.  Who  really  knows  the  issue  and  full  effect  of 
any  action  or  speech  ?  Who  can  tell  what  little  sentences  are 
quoted  in  the  sick  room,  what  suggestions  are  taken  from  the 
speaker's  lips  and  sent  in  letters  to  those  far  away  and  ill  at  ease  ? 


[52  ACTS  VII.  1-53. 


Who  can  tell  what  echoes  of  spent  eloquence  follow  the  hearer 
through  his  daily  engagements,  and  cheer  him  in  days  of  dejec- 
tion ?  Life  is  not  marked  off  in  so  many  inches  and  done  with  ; 
it  is  full  of  reference,  allusion,  collateral  and  incidental  bearing, 
so  that  an  act  done  is  not  self-complete,  but  may  be  the  beginning 
of  endless  other  acts  nobler  than  itself.  Compare  the  great  ora- 
tions of  Paul  with  the  speech  of  Stephen,  and  you  will  be  struck 
with  the  manner  in  which  the  scholar  reproduced  the  master,  and 
how  Stephen  transfused  himself  into  Paul's  very  spirit,  and  was 
under  God  the  making  of  that  sublime  Aposde. 

I  think  it  is  fair  criticism  to  infer  the  man  from  the  speech  on 
all  occasions.  It  is  sometimes  proverbially  said,  "  The  voice  is  the 
man."  We  may  enlarge  that  common  saying,  and  declare  with 
wisdom,  I  believe,  that  the  speech  is  the  character.  Following 
this  suggestion,  what  kind  of  man  was  Stephen,  judged  by  the 
speech  which  is  reported  in  this  chapter  .-■  Accused  of  blasphemy, 
he  is  called  upon  for  his  defence.  How  does  he  reveal  himself  .-* 
Surely  we  may  in  the  first  instance  describe  him  as  a  man  well 
versed  in  the  Scriptures.  From  beginning  to  end  his  speech  is  a 
Scriptural  one  ;  quotation  follows  quotation  like  shocks  of  thun- 
der. There  is  very  little  of  Stephen  himself  until  he  comes  to  the 
application  of  his  Scriptural  references.  Stephen  was  a  man  who 
had  read  his  Bible  ;  therein  he  separates  himself  from  the  most  of 
modern  people.  Personally  I  cannot  call  to  mind  a  single  person 
who  ever  read  the  Bible  and  disbelieved  it.  It  belongs  peculiarly 
to  the  Bible  to  get  hold  of  its  readers  little  by  little  ;  subtly  it  gets 
round  about  their  souls,  so  that  when  they  come  to  the  amen  of 
the  Apocalypse  they  find  themselves  spiritually,  if  not  literally,  on 
their  knees  in  homage  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Book.  We  all  know 
numerous  persons  who  abuse  the  Bible  who  have  never  read  it. 
Such  opposition  is  natural,  and  when  lunacy  becomes  philosophy 
it  will  be  about  the  most  rational  course  to  pursue.  Not  that  such 
persons  have  not  read  parts  of  the  Bible  ;  such  parts  they  have 
perused  without  understanding  ;  they  misquote  every  passage 
which  they  cite,  and  they  make  imperfect  reference  to  every 
Biblical  proposition  they  undertake  to  dispute.  They  do  not  dis- 
tinguish between  verse  and  Bible, — fractions  and  whole  numbers. 
Who  really  knows  the  Bible  by  heart .-'  It  is  the  boast  of  some  of 
us  that  we  can  recite  from  end  to  end  five  plays  of  Shakespeare. 


SPIRITUAL  HISTORY.  153 

Who  can  recite  the  Book  of  Psalms  ?  You  call  upon  your  little 
children  to  recite  nonsense  verses,  and  it  is  well  enough  that  now 
and  then  the  little  ones  should  do  so.  Which  of  your  children 
can  recite  a  chapter  of  the  Gospel  according  to  John  ?  Where  is 
the  man  who  can  repeat  word  for  word  one  of  Paul's  letters  to  the 
Corinthians  ?  And  would  not  some  of  us  be  posed  if  we  were 
called  upon  at  a  moment's  notice  to  recite  six  verses  of  Paul's 
letter  to  the  Romans  ?  Only  the  men.  who  know  the  Bible  should 
quote  it.  Only  those  who  are  steeped  in  the  Scriptures,  saturated 
through  and  through  with  Divine  truth,  should  undertake  to 
express  any  opinion  about  it.  This  is  the  law  in  all  other  criti- 
cism, and  in  common  justice  it  ought  to  be  the  law  in  relation  to 
the  Book  which  we  believe  to  be  the  inspired  revelation  of  God. 
Is  this  not  just .?  Are  we  asking  for  anything  in  the  Church  which 
would  not  be  granted  in  the  Polytechnic  and  the  Lyceum  .?  To 
undertake  to  discuss  an  author  without  knowing  him,  knowing 
him  within  his  very  spirit  and  purpose,  is  to  trifle  with  the 
occasion,  not  to  rise  to  its  dignity  and  responsibility.  When  the 
Church  knows  its  Bible  well,  we  may  trust  it  anywhere.  When 
other  voices  arise  to  charm  its  ear,  what  piping  voices  they  will  bei 
what  pitiful  moans  and  feeble  notes,  after  the  infinite  thunder  and 
ineffable  music  of  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  of  the  Psalms,  and 
Evangelists  of  Christ  1 

Having  this  complete  knowledge  of  Scripture,  Stephen  next 
shows  himself  to  have  been  a  man  who  took  a  broad  and  practical 
view  of  history.  It  is  as  difficult  to  find  a  man  who  has  read  his- 
tory as  to  find  a  man  who  has  read  the  Bible.  History  itself  is  a 
term  which  needs  definition.  A  man  does  not  know  history 
because  he  can  glibly  repeat  all  the  kings  of  England  from  the 
Conquest  until  now — that  is  not  history.  We  justly  ask  our 
younger  students  to  construct  a  party.  Giving  them  this  or  that 
Pope  as  president  of  the  Council,  we  say,  collect  around  him  the 
leading  men  of  his  day.  It  is  interestng  to  watch  how  the  table 
is  supplied  with  visitors,  how  every  chair  is  filled  up,  and  how  the 
symposium  is  completed  with  accuracy — but  that  is  not  history. 
You  will  find  that  history  is  not  a  letter,  and  is  not  to  be  reported  in 
letters  :  it  is  a  tone,  an  inspiration,  a  subtle,  impalpable,  all  involv- 
ing something — full  of  voices,  full  of  music,  vibrating,  throbbing 
with  indefinable  life  and  cnergv.      You  do  not  learn  historv  from  the 


154  ACTS  VII.  1-53. 


books.  From  the  books  you  learn  the  facts,  but,  in  a  sense  which 
might  be  defended  at  length  if  requisite,  having  ascertained  the 
facts,  you  must  make  history.  The  novelist  is  a  better  historian 
than  the  mere  annalist,  because  history  is  an  atmosphere.  It  is 
not  only  a  panorama  of  passing  incidents  and  anecdotes  great  and 
small ;  it  is  a  spirit  which  only  the  wizard  can  evoke  and  express. 
Stephen  lived  in  history.  His  •vsas  not  a  little  rootless  life  that  lay 
on  the  surface,  that  the  sun  could  smite  with  withering  fire. 
Stephen  belonged  to  the  past,  and  therefore  to  the  present. 
Stephen  was  a  member  of  a  great  and  noble  household,  he  was  a 
link  in  a  far-stretching  chain,  he  was  an  element  in  a  great  com- 
position. Why  should  we  live  the  shallow  life  of  men  who  have 
no  history  behind  them  .?  We  are  encompassed  by  a  great  cloud 
of  witnesses.  Behind  us,  the  undying  dead  ;  beyond  us,  the 
immortal  livng.  By  what  right  do  we  dissociate  ourselves  from 
currents,  historic  and  providential .?  We  have  no  right  to  disen- 
noble  ourselves,  and  commit  an  act  of  dismembership  which  sepa- 
rates us  from  the  agony,  the  responsibility,  and  the  destiny  of  the 
race.  In  Christ  we  have  all  to  be  one.  "  The  whole  family  in 
heaven  and  on  earth"  was  the  language  of  Paul  ;  and  that  lan- 
guage ought  to  be  ours  if  we  would  realize  what  it  is  to  be  sons  of 
God,  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  and  inspired  by  history. 

Stephen  was,  in  the  third  place,  a  man  who  was/hrad  I'n/o  acUon 
by  his  deep  convictions.  That  is  a  word  which  has  somehow  slipped 
out  of  our  vocabulary.  Why  should  I  say  slipped  out  of  our 
vocabulary  ?  It  has  only  done  so  because  it  has  slipped  out  of  our 
life.  Who  now  has  any  co7tviciions  ?  Life  is  now  a  game,  a 
series  of  expedients.  It  consists  of  a  succession  of  experiments. 
It  is  a  speculation,  a  bet,  a  fool's  wager,  a  leap  in  the  dark.  It 
is  not  an  embodied  and  sacrificial  conviction.  In  the  old,  old 
days,  men  used  to  live  because  they  could  not  help  it.  In  those 
days  they  spoke  because  they  believed.  They  had  no  necessity 
to  get  up  a  speech,  to  prepare  and  arrange  it  in  words  that  would 
offend  nobody,  and  would  be  recollected  by  no  hearer.  In  old 
Christian  days  men  spoke  as  naturally  and  as  necessarily  as  they 
breathed.  Without  faith  we  cannot  have  eloquence  ;  words 
innumerable,  but  not  speech  of  the  heart,  sparks  from  the  life, 
flashes  from  the  inward  and  living  altar.  It  is  not  enough  to  have 
information,      k  is  not  enough,  my  young  brother,  preparing  for 


THE  RHETORICAL  MODEL.  155 

the  pulpit,  to  have  an  encyclopaedia  of  mere  knowledge  of  letters 
and  of  books  ;  you  must  have  the  believing  and  the  understanding 
heart,  the  resolute  will,  which  can  only  come  from  the  Holy 
Ghost.  If  you  believe  Christianity,  you  will  not  need  any  ex- 
hortation to  speak  it.  Speech  about  Christianity,  where  it  is  known 
and  loved,  is  the  best  necessity  of  this  life.  The  fire  burns,  the 
heart  muses,  and  the  tongue  speaks.  If  timidly,  still  clearly,  and 
if  timidly,  not  with  the  timidity  of  cowardice,  but  with  the  self-re- 
straint of  modesty.  It  was  not  enough  for  Stephen  ;  hence  in  the 
fifty-first  verse  you  find  that  Stephen  was  a  man  whose  inforviation 
burned  into  religious  earnestness.  Having  made  his  quotation  he 
turned  round  as  preachers  dare  not  turn  round  now.  "  Ye  stiff- 
necked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart  and  ears,  ye  do  always  resist 
the  Holy  Ghost:  as  your  fathers  did,  so  do  ye."  It 'was  an 
offensive  speech.  It  was  unpardonable  then,  and  it  would  be  un- 
pardonable now.  Why  was  it  unpardonable  }  Because  it  was 
truth  made  pointed.  It  was  doctrine  personalized,  and  that  no 
man  will  ever  endure.  No  man  goes  to  church  to  be  spoken  to. 
There  is  not  a  man  amongst  us  would  be  here  to-day  if  he  knew 
that  the  preacher  would  personally  rebuke  his  sins.  The  man 
who  would  listen  all  day  with  delight  to  an  eloquent  malediction 
upon  the  depravity  of  the  whole  world  would  leave  the  church  if 
you  told  him  he  was  a  drunkard  or  a  thief.  We  live  in  generali- 
ties. So  preaching  is  now  dying,  or  it  is  becoming  a  trick  in  elo- 
quence, or  it  is  offering  a  grand  opportunity  for  saying  nothing 
about  nothing.  It  used  to  turn  the  world  upside  down.  It  used 
to  be  followed  by  blows,  and  stones,  and  fires,  and  racks. 

Stephen  shows  us  the  model  of  the  great  speaker  ;  we  need  no 
book  of  rhetoric  beyond  this  great  apology.  Called  upon,  he  ad- 
dresses his  auditors  with  courtesy  as  "  Men,  brethren,  and 
fathers."  He  begins  calmly,  with  the  serenity  of  conscious 
power.  He  quotes  from  undisputed  authority.  Every  step  he 
takes  is  a  step  in  advance.  There  is  not  in  all  his  narration  one 
circular  movement.  Having  accumulated  his  facts  and  put  them 
in  the  most  vivid  manner,  he  suddenly,  like  the  out-bursting  of  a 
volcano,  applies  the  subject,  saying,  "  Ye  stiff-necked  and  uncir- 
cumcised in  heart  and  ears,  yc  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost. 
As  your  fathers  did,  so  do  ye."  Are  these  the  people  he  de- 
scribed at  the  beginning  of  his  speech  t     Then  he  called  them. 


156  ACTS  VII.  1-53. 


"  Men,  brethren,  and  fathers."  This  is  the  law  of  argumentative 
progress.  Begin  courteously,  and  beg  the  confidence  and  respect- 
ful attention  of  your  hearers.  At  the  beginning,  before  they  had 
heard  the  statement,  they  are,  ' '  Men,  brethren,  and  fathers, ' '  but 
your  speech  will  be  their  responsibility.  They  will  not  be  the 
same  at  the  end  of  the  speech  as  they  were  at  the  beginning.  So 
the  hearers  who  were  ' '  Men,  brethren,  and  fathers' '  in  the  exor- 
dium, are  "Stiff-necked  and  uncircumcised  in  hearts  and  ears" 
in  the  peroration  !  A  preacher  may  begin  as  courteously  as  he 
pleases,  but  having  got  out  the  truth,  having  showed  what  God  is 
and  has  done,  and  wants  to  be  done,  his  conclusion  should  be  a 
judgment  as  well  as  a  gospel.  Is  it  possible  for  any  man  to-day 
to  be  a  Stephen  .?  Why  not }  The  Bible  is  still  here.  Every  one 
of  us  can  read  it  in  the  tongue  in  which  he  was  born,  and  every 
one  of  us  may  by  the  grace  and  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  have  a 
calm  and  sovereign  confidence  in  the  truth.  That  is  what  is 
wanted.  Do  not  put  your  case  tentatively,  interrogatively,  sug- 
gestively. The  Bible  is  either  a  revelation  or  it  is  an  imposition. 
It  is  either  the  truth  or  the  aggravation  of  all  falsehood.  Range 
yourselves  upon  the  one  side  or  the  other,  and,  having  the  truth 
of  God,  speak  it.  But  how  did  Stephen  know  all  about  the  case  ? 
Was  he,  as  suggested,  the  second  disciple  who  travelled  on  that 
eventide  from  Jerusalem  to  Emmaus .?  None  can  decide  that 
question.  There  is  some  inferential  evidence  in  favor  of  the  view. 
For  my  part,  I  think  it  is  most  probably  true.  On  that,  however, 
no  definite  and  final  opinion  can  be  pronounced  by  any  man. 
But  suppose  that  Stephen  was  the  very  disciple  when  the  two 
walked  together  and  were  sad,  and  as  they  went  together  Jesus 
himself  drew  near,  but  their  eyes  were  holden  that  they  should  not 
know  him.  Having  inquired  into  the  circumstances  of  the  case, 
he  said,  "  Oh,  fools,  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the 
prophets  have  spoken,"  and,  beginning  at  Moses  and  the  proph- 
ets, he  expounded  to  them  in  all  Scripture  the  things  concerning 
himself.  What  if  Saul  reported  Stephen,  and  Stephen  reported 
Christ,  and  so  the  great  Gospel  goes  on  from  man  to  man,  from 
tongue  to  tongue,  till  the  last  man  hears  it,  and  his  heart  bums 
within  him  ! 


XVII. 
PRAYER. 

{Easter  Sunday.^ 

O  Thou  who  hast  thyself  risen  from  the  dead,  raise  us  up  also  with 
thyself  that  we  may  die  no  more.  We  bless  thee  for  the  word  of  resur- 
rection, for  the  gospel  of  restoration,  and  for  the  hope  that  death  itself 
shall  die  and  the  whole  creation  be  filled  with  joyous  life.  If  we  be  risen 
with  Christ  we  will  set  our  affections  on  things  above.  Help  us  in  this 
way  to  show  how  truly  we  have  been  buried  with  Christ,  and  how  cer- 
tainly we  have  been  raised  again  with  the  Son  of  God.  May  we  know 
the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings  and  the  power  of  his  resurrection.  Cruci' 
fied  with  Christ,  may  we  also  rise  with  him.  Having  known  his  shame, 
may  we  share  his  glory.  Help  us  to  overcome  in  the  great  battle  of  life, 
that  we  may  sit  down  with  Christ  upon  his  throne. 

Thou  dost  bring  the  years  round  from  day  to  day,  with  all  their  sacred 
memories,  with  all  their  solemn  inspirations,  and  with  all  their  ennobling 
and  instructive  lessons.  May  ours  be  the  seeing  eyes,  the  hearing  ears, 
and  the  hearts  that  do  understand.  Let  nothing  of  thy  providence  be 
wasted  upon  us.  Let  the  whole  ministry  of  thy  grace  operate  constantly 
in  our  hearts,  subduing  every  evil  passion,  controlling  every  unholy 
thought,  and  lifting  our  whole  life  up  to  the  sublimity  of  the  life  of  Christ. 
We  bless  thee  for  all  thy  care.  May  we  never  forget  thy  benefits.  Make 
our  memories  quick  to  retain  every  gracious  impression,  and  whilst  our 
memory  remembers  may  our  hope  strengthen  itself  upon  nourishment 
from  heaven,  that  it  may  live  through  all  the  night  of  life,  and  finally 
enter  into  the  joy  of  heaven's  own  morning. 

Thou  hast  reminded  us  this  day  of  the  open  grave  of  the  Son  of  God. 
He  is  not  here.  He  is  risen.  We  will  not  seek  the  living  among  the 
dead.  Our  hearts  will  fly  towards  the  heavens  where  the  Christ  of  God 
now  pleads  and  prays,  and  we  will  breathe  our  prayer  through  His  infinite 
intercession,  and  because  of  his  priesthood  the  answer  to  our  desire  shall 
be  worthy  of  thyself,  thou  giver  of  all  good.  Our  hope  is  still  in  the 
Cross  ;  our  confidence  is  in  the  abandoned  tomb.  Because  Christ  died 
we  shall  live,  and  because  he  rose  again  from  the  dead  death  shall  have 
no  dominion  over  us.  Having  this  hope  in  us,  may  we  purify  ourselves, 
and  set  ourselves  earnestly  to  all  the  high  service  of  thy  kingdom.  May 
we  not  be  slothful  ;  may  we  rather  be  reckoned  among  those  who  redeem 
the  time,  and  who  prevent  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  toil  till  the  night  has 


58  ACTS  VII.  I -S3. 


fallen.  Blessed  is  that  servant  who  shall  be  found  waiting  and  watching 
and  -serving  when  his  Lord  cometh.  Even  so,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly. 
Delay  not  thy  coming.  The  earth  is  wearying  for  thee,  and  the  whole 
creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together  until  now.  Come  as 
thou  wilt,  and  when  thou  wilt,  only  make  us  ready  to  receive  thee  with 
the  eager  love  which  should  possess  the  hearts  of  men  redeemed. 

Comfort  thy  people.  Speak  a  work  of  tender  consolation  to  the  heart 
that  is  filled  with  trouble.  To  some,  life  is  a  river  of  tears,  a  long  pain, 
a  dark  and  terrible  disappointment,  an  agony  which  death  alone  can  heal. 
Surely  thou  knovvest  such,  and  to-day,  when  the  heavens  are  glad  with  a 
new  hymn,  and  the  earth  is  young  with  a  new  spring,  and  a  new  hope, 
thou  wilt  find  them  out  in  their  hiding-places,  and  make  them  also  glad. 

Help  us  to  hold  on  steadfastly  during  the  few  years  that  remain.  May 
there  be  no  break  in  our  constancy  ;  may  our  fidelity  be  without  flaw  or 
hesitation  ;  may  our  life,  redeemed  with  blood,  spare  not  itself  in  the  ser- 
vice of  thy  truth  ;  and  may  our  whole  hope  in  Christ  be  made  glad  at  last 
•with  the  revelation  and  the  enjoyment  of  his  own  heaven.     Amen. 

THE  DEFENCE   OF   STEPHEN. 
Acts  vii.   {continued^. 

THE  first  use  we  made  of  this  speech  was  to  inquire  into  the 
character  of  the  speaker.  I  propose  to  recur  now  to  this 
great  apology,  and  to  use  it  in  the  second  place  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  the  method  of  Divine  revelation  and  providence.  Taking 
this  great  speech  as  our  guide,  what  is  the  method  of  God's  revela- 
tion to  His  creatures  and  the  method  of  His  providence  over 
them  ?  Let  us  see  whether  what  is  related  here  agrees  with  our 
own  observation  and  experience.  It  may  be  that  we  can  re- 
deliver Stephen's  great  speech  ourselves.  If  we  cannot  find  the 
words  of  such  eloquence,  we  can  identify  Stephen's  words  as  a  fit 
expression  of  the  sentiments  which  animate  our  own  hearts.  The 
first  point  to  which  attention  is  now  called  is  the  verj'  point  which 
came  before  us  in  our  first  study  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
Notice  how  God  has  from  the  beginning  made  himself  known  to 
individuals.  Stephen  relates  the  great  names  of  history.  Some 
names  are  as  mountains  on  the  landscape.  We  start  our  journeys 
from  them,  we  reckon  our  distances  by  them,  we  measure  our 
progress  according  to  their  height.  God  does  not  reveal  Himself 
to  great  crowds  of  men  by  some  common  revelation  which  ten 
thousand  men  seize  at  one  and  the  same  moment.  So  Stephen 
tells  us  that  God  appeared  to  Abram,  to  Joseph,  to  Moses,  and  to 


THE  FACT  OF  PERSONAL   ELECTION. 


159 


Solomon.  This  is  the  method  of  the  Divine  revelation  all  through 
and  through  history.  It  is  in  some  senses  a  perplexing  method, 
but  we  cannot  deny  it.  We  may  reason  about  it,  and  fear  it  as 
we  fear  a  great  dark  cloud,  but  there  it  is  ;  and  it  is  not  there  only 
in  theology,  it  is  there  in  science,  in  politics,  in  commerce,  in 
literature,  in  family  life,  all  through  and  through — the  fact  that 
God  speaks  to  the  individual,  and  entrusts  him  with  some  great 
gospel  or  spiritual  mystery,  or  of  scientific  and  commercial  prog- 
ress. Why  make  so  much  ado  about  religious  election  .-'  Why 
talk  about  election  as  if  it  were  a  distinctively  and  exclusively  re- 
ligious word  .''  You  find  this  principle  of  the  selection  of  individ- 
uals as  evangelists,  apostles,  preachers,  and  pastors,  in  agriculture, 
in  astronomy,  in  statesmanship,  in  theology.  If  we  could  con- 
ceive valid  objections  against  any  accidental  application  of  this  doc- 
trine of  personal  election,  we  should  still  have  to  emcounter  it 
along  the  whole  line  of  human  history.  How  is  it  that  one  man 
in  the  family  has  all  the  sense  ?  How  is  it  that  one  of  your  boys 
has  all  the  adventure }  How  is  it  that  one  man  is  a  poet  and 
another  a  mathematician  ?  How  is  it  that  one  boy  can  never  be 
got  to  stay  at  home  and  his  own  brother  can  never  be  got  to  leave 
home .?  How  is  it  that  one  man  speaks  out  the  word  that  ex- 
presses the  inarticulate  thought  of  a  generation,  though  all  other 
men  would  have  been  afraid  to  speak  it,  even  if  they  had  been 
wise  enough  to  discover  it  ?  Stephen  therefore  recognizes  this 
great  principle  in  the  Divine  revelation,  that  God  speaks  to  individ- 
uals, and  clothes  individuals  with  peculiar  and  most  solemn  re- 
sponsibility. In  all  ages  God  has  had  His  prophets,  apostles, 
evangelists,  errand  runners,  men  who  have  digged  into  the  rocks 
and  soared  into  the  stars,  and  plunged  through  tumultuous  seas  to 
discover  unknown  lands.  God  has  adopted  the  same  method  also 
in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  He  has  made  some  apostles,  some 
prophets,  some  pastors  and  teachers,  but  the  principle  of  individual 
election  and  coronation  has  been  the  same. 

In  the  second  place  Stephen  recognizes  the  great  fact  that  God 
has  constantly  come  along  the  line  of  surprise.  Revelation  has 
never  been  a  commonplace.  Wherever  God  has  revealed  Himself 
He  has  surprised  the  person  on  whom  the  revealing  light  has 
fallen.  The  power  of  surprise  is  one  of  the  greatest  powers  at  the 
disposal  of  any  teacher.      How  to  put  the  old  as  if  it  were  the 


[6o  ACTS  VII.  1-53. 


new  !  How  to  set  fire  to  common  sense  so  that  it  shall  bum  up 
into  genius  ?  How  to  reveal  to  a  man  his  bigger  and  better  self ! 
How  has  God  proceeded  according  to  the  historical  narration  of 
Stephen?  To  Abram  he  said,  "  Get  thee  out  from  thy  country 
and  from  thy  kindred. ' '  We  cannot  conceive  the  shock  of  sur- 
prise with  which  these  words  would  be  received.  Travelling  then 
was  not  what  travelling  is  now.  Get  thee  out  on  foot,  bind  on 
thy  sandals,  take  thy  staff,  gather  together  thy  family,  and  go  out, 
not  knowing  whither  thou  goest  !  No  man  could  receive  a  call 
of  that  kind  as  a  mere  commonplace  !  It  must  have  gone  thrill- 
ingly  through  every  fibre  of  the  man's  being.  Called  to  leave 
something  positive  for  something  promised — called  to  give  up  a 
reality  in  the  hope  of  realizing  a  dream !  Then  pass  on  to  the 
case  of  Joseph.  Stephen  reminded  his  hearers  that  God  gave 
Joseph  favor  and  wisdom.  Joseph's  life  was  a  surprise — a  greater 
surprise  to  himself  than  to  anybody  that  could  look  upon  it 
How  was  it  that  he  always  had  the  key  of  the  gate .?  Why  did 
men  turn  to  him  in  the  night-time,  and  ask  him  the  way  through 
the  valley  of  darkness  and  across  the  mountain  of  gloom  }  How 
was  it  that  he  only  could  tell  the  King  the  meaning  of  the  King's 
dream  }  Then  pass  on  to  Moses.  Stephen  recognizes  the  same 
principle  of  surprise,  for  he  reminds  his  hearers  that  God  appeared 
unto  Moses  in  a  flaming  bush — not  that  He  baptized  him  with  the 
dew,  not  that  he  insensibly  surrounded  him  with  a  new  atmosphere, 
and  breathed  upon  him  a  benediction  without  words.  Moses  was 
startled.  The  power  of  surprise  was  used  by  the  Almighty  to  attract 
.attention.  So  a  bush  flamed  at  the  mountain  base,  and  a  voice  said 
to  the  wanderer,  Stop  !  Nothing  but  fire  can  stop  some  men  ! 
There  are  those  to  whom  the  dew  is  a  gospel,  there  are  others  who 
require  the  very  fire  that  lights  the  eternal  throne  to  stop  them  and 
arouse  their  full  attention.  God  knows  what  kind  of  book  to  give 
you.  The  book  that  would  suit  you  might  be  an  offence  to  your 
own  mother.  God  knows  what  kind  of  ministr}'  you  need,  so  He 
has  set  in  His  Church  a  thousand  ministries,  of  dew,  of  tender- 
ness, of  lute-like  music,  of  pathos  and  tears  and  infinite  persuasive- 
ness, and  thunder  and  lightning,  and  fire  and  alarm  !  It  is  not 
for  us  to  compare  the  one  with  the  other,  but  to  see  in  such  a  dis- 
tribution of  power  God's  purpose  to  touch  every  creature  in  the 
whole  world.  • 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  PROVIDENCE.  i6i 

In  the  third  place,  Stephen,  looking  over  the  whole  range  of 
human  history,  shows  how  God  has  all  the  time  been  overruling 
improbabilities  and  disasters.  We  should  say  that  when  God  has 
called  a  man  to  service,  the  road  would  be  wide,  clear  of  all  ob- 
structions, filled  with  sunshine,  lined  with  flowers,  that  the  man 
leaning  on  God's  arm  will  be  accompanied  by  the  singing  of  birds 
and  of  angels.  Nothing  of  the  kind  is  true  to  fact.  Stephen  rec- 
ognizes this  in  very  distinct  terms.  He  says  that  God  spake  in 
this  wise,  that  Abram's  seed  should  sojourn  in  a  strange  land,  and 
that  they  should  bring  them  into  bondage,  and  evil  entreat  them 
four  hundred  years  !  In  the  face  of  such  an  arrangement  can 
there  be  an  Almighty  providence  \  Yes.  And  Joseph  was 
selected,  as  we  have  seen,  and  yet  he  was  sold  into  Egypt.  "  God- 
forsaken" we  should  say,  looking  at  the  outside  only.  And 
there  were  those,  as  we  are  reminded  by  Stephen,  who  evilly  en- 
treated our  fathers,  so  that  they  cast  out  their  young  children  to 
the  end  they  might  not  live.  Yet  the  first  word  was  supposed  to 
be  a  Divine  direction  !  Moses  himself  was  "  cast  out. "  Stephen 
does  not  cover  these  things  up  or  make  less  of  them,  or  seek  to 
hasten  away  from  them  as  from  disagreeable  circumstances  in  the 
order  of  Divine  Providence.  Nay,  he  relates  them,  masses  them 
into  great  black  groups,  and  says — Still  the  great  thought  went  on 
and  on  !  There  is  the  majesty  of  the  Divine  Providence.  Its 
movement  is  not  lost  in  pits,  and  caves,  and  wildernesses,  and  rivers, 
and  seas.  The  disasters  are  many,  the  sufferings  are  severe,  the 
disappointments  are  innumerable  and  unendurable ;  still  the 
thought  goes  on.  Judge  nothing  before  the  time.  So  is  it  with 
our  own  life.  To-day  white-clothed  apostles,  mighty  with  God, 
the  uplifting  of  our  hands  a  prevailing  prayer — to-morrow  like 
the  beasts  that  perish  !  Living  the  forbidden  life,  eating  stolen 
bread,  living  the  beggar's  life,  can  we  be  the  called  of  God  ? 
Can  God  be  living  in  us  and  leading  us  onward  to  some  great 
destiny }  Yes  !  He  will  yet  cause  death  itself  to  die.  There 
shall  be  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  this  lit- 
tle sin-blighted  earth,  more  than  over  ninety  and  nine  of  the 
planets  that  never  knew  the  tragedy  of  sin  !  Do  not  say  you 
are  forsaken  of  God  because  you  have  broken  every  command- 
ment of  the  ten.  The  gift  of  God  is  not  a  question  of  good  be- 
haviour as  from  the  outside,  and  as  measurable  by  the  letter  ;  it 


i62  ACTS  17/.  1-53. 


is  a  question  oi  purpose,  Ihoiighi,  supreme  intent  ;  and  GOD  alone 
is  judge  ! 

There  is  nothing  in  this  review  of  history  as  conducted  by 
Stephen  that  ought  to  startle  us  as  a  novelty,  or  disturb  us  as  an 
improbability.  God  has  revealed  himself  to  individuals  in  the 
making  of  the  steam-engine,  and  the  spinning  jenny,  and  the  tele- 
graph, and  the  telephone,  and  a  thousand  other  things.  He  did 
not  reveal  these  inventions  or  possible  inventions  to  all  together, 
but  to  the  singular  man,  to  the  solitary  student,  to  the  one  brood- 
ing mind.  "  The  Holy  Ghost  hath  overshadowed  thee,  therefore, 
that  holy  thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee,  shall  be  called  the  gift 
of  God  !"  That  is  true  of  every  miraculous  conception,  whether 
it  be  of  the  Son  of  God  or  of  the  last  invention  of  progressive  civil- 
ization.    Do  not,  then,  distrust  the  individual  teacher. 

There  is  a  common  sophism,  which  only  requires  to  be  stated 
to  refute  itself,  to  the  effect  that  it  is  very  strange  that  God  should 
have  kept  back  this  or  that  truth  until  this  or  that  man  should 
have  arisen.  There  is  nothing  in  all  history  less  strange.  It  is 
God's  common  method.  Yet  there  are  those  to-day  who  will  tell 
you  that  it  is  very  strange  that  God  should  have  kept  back  his  truth 
for  nineteen  hundred  years,  and  should  have  revealed  it  to  this 
latest  of  the  teachers.  It  is  a  most  fallacious  sophism.  We  all 
know  better.  It  is  God's  plan  to  say  to  Abram,  "  Get  thee  out." 
To  call  individual  minds  to  his  service,  and  to  set  the  flame  of  the 
new  revelation  on  the  altar  of  the  indvidual  understanding.  Do 
not  fear  to  be  surprised.  Distrust  commonplace  rather  than  naveliy. 
Astonishment  would  seem  to  be  the  key-word  of  the  Divine  Book. 
Every  page  is  a  surprise.  Every  syllable  flames  with  a  new  light. 
The  Lord  sends  us  not  a  new  book,  but  new  readers  of  the  book, 
men  whose  tones  are  comments  and  whose  expositions  are  revela- 
tions. Do  not  succumb  to  misfortune.  Our  fathers  were  evil  en- 
treated, said  Stephen  ;  for  four  hundred  years  they  seemed  to  have 
'no  deliverer.  Moses  was  cast  out ;  Joseph  had  been  thrown  into 
prison  ;  disaster  had  marked  the  whole  history  of  the  Church.  It 
was  still  God' s  Church,  and  you  are  God's  child,  his  loved  one 
still,  though  you  have  been  evil  entreated,  and  have  done  evil,  and 
have  left  undone  much  that  you  ought  to  have  done.  God  does 
not  elect  and  disentitle  according  to  our  paltry  rules  and  techni- 
calities.     "  The  gifts  and  calling  of  God  are  without  repentance." 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  PROVIDENCE.  163 

Bruised,  ragged,  sin-stained,  tearful,  worn,  we  may  yet  arrive  at 
the  city  whose  streets  are  gold  and  whose  walls  are  jasper,  for 
God's  grace  is  greater  than  man's  sin. 

Mark  how  exactly  this  whole  history  of  Stephen's  corresponds 
with  Christ' s  method  oi  revelation  and  providence.  We  can  trace 
the  whole  of  the  old  history  in  the  new,  and  entirely  fit  piece  to 
piece,  letter  to  letter,  line  to  line.  Did  not  Christ  reveal  himself 
to  individuals  ?  Did  he  not  say  to  the  Abram  of  his  time,  "  Fol- 
low me  V  Did  he  call  ten  thousand  men  with  one  loud  call,  or 
did  he  go  closely  to  one  waiting  fisherman  and  say  to  him, 
"Come.?"  A  greater  call  than  was  addressed  to  Abraham! 
Peter  was  summoned  to  a  more  honored  and  sublime  destiny. 
"  Follow  me  ;"  to  weariness,  to  shame,  to  misunderstanding,  to 
reproach,  to  abandonment,  to  death,  to  heaven  !  Did  not  Christ 
also  use  the  power  of  surprise?  When  was  he  ever  received  into 
any  town  as  an  ordinary  visitor .?  Who  did  not  know  his  voice 
amongst  a  hundred  others  .?  Who  did  not  wait  for  him  to  speak, 
and  look,  and  act .?  Who  was  not  impatient  with  all  the  multi- 
tude lest  they  should  interrupt  any  sentence  of  this  marvellous  elo- 
quence .?  Did  not  Christ  also  take  his  Church  through  ifnprobabili- 
lies,  disasters,  and  dark  places  .-*  Has  not  his  Church  been  evil 
entreated  .-*  Have  not  our  Christian  fathers  been  cast  out  ?  Have 
we  not  also  our  heroes,  and  sufferers,  and  martyrs,  and  crowned 
ones  ?  I  saw  a  great  city,  and  one  of  the  elders  answered  and 
said  unto  me,  These  are  they  that  came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and 
have  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb.  And,  lastly,  was  not  Christ  always  master  of  the  occasion  .? 
Without  a  place  whereon  to  lay  his  head,  he  was  still  the  LORD. 
Without  a  beast  to  ride  upon,  he  still  called  himself  the  MASTER. 
Washing  his  disciples'  feet,  he  lifted  himself  up  from  his  stoop  to 
name  himself  LORD  and  MASTER.  We  remember  our  disas- 
ters, our  slaveries,  our  punishments,  our  reproach,  and  our  sor- 
row ;  still,  notwithstanding  all,  the  Church  is  the  Lamb's  Bride, 
and  he  will  marry  her  at  the  altar  of  the  universe  ! 


XVIII. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  thou  hast  made  thy  truth  a  savour  of  life  unto  life,  or 
of  death  unto  death.  Truly  thy  word  is  a  fire  to  enlighten  or  a  fire  to 
destroy.  The  stone  which  thou  hast  set  forth  in  thy  Gospel  is  a  won- 
drous stone.  If  men  fall  upon  it  they  will  be  broken,  but  if  it  fall  upon 
men  it  will  grind  them  to  powder.  May  we  know  thy  Gospel  to  be  the 
word  of  life.  To  us  may  there  be  no  sound  of  death  in  all  the  utterance 
of  the  truth.  May  our  souls  leap  with  joy  on  hearing  the  great  Gospel 
of  thy  Word.  We  bless  thee  that  we  have  heard  thy  truth,  that  we  love 
its  graciousness,  and  that  we  answer  its  music.  Thy  Word  is  truth.  Thy 
truth  gladdens  the  heart  ;  thy  truth  overthrows  the  last  enemy,  and  fills 
the  open  grave  with  spring's  brightest,  sweetest  flowers.  May  we  this  day 
enter  into  thy  truth  with  gladness,  with  sympathy,  with  gratitude  ;  and  as 
we  study  it  in  the  sanctuary  of  God  may  light  be  increased.  Open  our 
eyes  until  our  whole  life  be  filled  with  glory,  and  there  be  round  about  us 
the  very  splendour  of  heaven.  Thou  dost  grant  unto  thy  people  occa- 
sional seasons  of  rapture.  Sometimes  thou  dost  permit  us  to  look  over 
the  boundary  line  and  to  see  the  better  land.  Now  and  again  thou  dost 
cause  us  to  hear  singing  which  falls  from  above.  We  know  it  by  its  ten- 
derness, and  sweetness,  and  power  to  heal.  May  this  day  be  a  day  of 
vision  and  of  much  overhearing  of  heavenly  melodies,  and  may  our 
hearts  be  lifted  up  with  all  the  inspiration  of  blood-bought  freedom,  and 
may  we  gather  under  the  banner  which  floats  from  the  Cross  itself. 
Wondrous  Cross  !  So  mean,  so  grand  !  Behold  there  we  see,  with  our 
heart's  bright  eyes,  the  dying  Son  of  Gcd,  the  sacrifice  for  our  sins,  the 
one  Priest,  the  infinite  Redeemer.  We  see  him  die  and  we  see  him  rise 
again,  and  we  know  that  now  he  prays  for  us  as  he  only  can  pray.  Re- 
ceive us,  thou  Great  Intercessor.  Speak  in  words  of  thine  own  the  griefs 
we  cannot  utter,  and  tell  thy  Father  in  words  of  thine  own  choosing  the 
keenness  of  our  penitence.  We  await  great  answers.  We  have  brought 
with  us  the  empty  vessels  of  our  heart,  and  mind,  and  strength,  and  eveiy 
power  we  have,  and  we  await  the  opening  of  the  windows  of  heaven,  and 
the  deluge  that  baptizes  but  never  destroys.  Our  sin  is  great,  but  thy 
grace  is  greater.  It  is  to  grace  we  come.  It  is  to  grace  we  direct  our 
hope.  It  is  to  thyself  in  thy  love  that  we  now  hasten  like  prodigals  whose 
hearts  are  broken.  Receive  us  every  one.  Make  the  old  man  young 
again,  and  may  the  white  hair  be  but  like  the  white  spring  blossom,  the 
sign  of  a  real  summer.     Make  the  young  be  sober,  strong,  enthusiastic. 


CONTRARY  EFFECTS.  165 

Recall  into  thy  Church  the  angels  we  have  banished,  the  angels  of  devo- 
tion, passion,  enthusiasm,  self-sacrifice.  Let  thy  Church  to-day  be  as  thy 
Church  of  long  ago,  when  she  walked  abroad  in  the  earth,  and  men  knew 
her  by  the  fire  which  glowed  in  her  eyes,  and  by  the  graciousness  of  her 
persuasive  speech.  Be  with  all  good  and  honest  men — with  the  mission- 
ary here,  the  evangelist  yonder,  with  the  sower  of  heaven's  own  seed, 
and  may  we  one  day  see  him  coming  back  from  the  field  burdened  only 
because  the  sheaves  are  so  many.     Amen. 

Acts  vii.  54-60. 

54.  When  they  heard  these  things,  they  were  cut  to  the  heart,  and  they 
gnashed  on  him  with  their  teeth. 

55.  But  he,  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  looked  up  steadfastly  into 
heaven,  and  saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  Jesus  standing  on  the  right  hand 
of  God, 

56.  And  said.  Behold,  I  see  the  heavens  opened,  and  the  Son  of  man 
standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God. 

57.  Then  they  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  and  stopped  their  ears,  and 
ran  upon  him  with  one  accord, 

58.  And  cast  him  out  of  the  city,  and  stoned  him  :  and  the  witnesses 
laid  down  their  clothes  at  a  young  man's  feet,  whose  name  was  Saul. 

59.  And  they  stoned  Stephen,  calling  upon  God,  and  saying.  Lord 
Jesus,  receive  my  spirit. 

60.  And  he  kneeled  down,  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  Lord,  lay  not 
this  sin  to  their  charge.     And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  fell  asleep. 

THE  DOUBLE  EFFECT   OF  TRUTH. 

TRUTH  would  always  seem  to  produce  a  double  effect.  Some 
time  ago  we  read  that  when  the  people  heard  Peter's 
speech  they  were  pricked  in  their  hearts,  and  said  unto  Peter  and 
to  the  rest  of  the  Apostles,  ' '  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we 
do?"  When  the  people  heard  Stephen  deliver  substantially  the 
same  message  they  were  cut  to  the  heart,  and  they  gnashed  on  him 
with  their  teeth.  This  is  the  history  of  preaching.  It  is  the  his- 
tory of  preaching  to-day.  This  wonderful  divergence  of  feeling  is 
developed  in  every  congregation  where  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  is 
proclaimed  with  faithfulness  and  power.  The  Gospel  is  either  a 
savour  of  life  unto  life  or  of  death  unto  death,  that  is  to  say,  it 
either  saves  men  or  it  kills  them.  No  man  is  the  same  after  a  ser- 
mon that  he  was  before.  It  is  a  solemn  thing  to  be  in  the  sanc- 
tuary at  all,  and  no  man  can  pass  through  the  services  of  the  sane- 


i66  ACTS   VII.  54-60. 


tuary,  with  any  interest  either  on  one  side  or  on  the  other,  and  be 
precisely  the  same  at  the  end  as  he  was  at  the  beginning.  In  pro- 
portion as  this  is  not  so  the  Gospel  is  not  preached.  We  must 
not  confound  the  permanent  with  the  accidental.  If  men  can 
hear  sermons  now,  and  be  simply  amused  or  pleased,  gratified  or 
delighted,  something  has  been  left  out  in  the  statement  made  by 
the  preacher.  He  has  concealed  the  Lord's  sword,  he  has  thrown 
water  upon  the  burning  fire,  he  has  delivered  but  a  one-sided  mes- 
sage. "  The  word  of  the  Lord  is  sharper  than  a  two-edged  sword  ; 
it  pierceth  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  the  joints  and  marrow." 
Where  preaching  has  become  child's  play,  and  hearing  a  dreary 
mind's  pious  entertainment,  then  the  great  features  of  apostolic 
preaching  have  been  lost.  Have  you  come  hungering  and  thirst- 
ing after  righteousness,  earnestly  desiring  to  see  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to  hold  sweet  and  fervent  commun- 
ion with  the  Triune  God  .?  Then  you  cannot  be  disappointed. 
God  will  not  allow  disappointment  to  follow  such  aspirations. 
He  would  deny  himself  if  he  could,  for  he  has  plainly  said,  *'  Bless- 
ed are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,  for  they 
shall  be  filled."  The  Lord  is  not  a  host  who  invites  more  guests 
than  his  banqueting-table  will  accommodate.  There  is  no  short- 
ness in  the  Father's  house,  there  is  bread  enough  and  to  spare. 
If  we  bring  the  hunger,  God  will  find  the  food.  I  do  not  say  that 
the  food  v,ill  be  in  this  portion  or  in  that  portion  of  the  service, 
but  it  will  be  somewhere — in  Psalm,  or  hymn,  or  inspired  lesson, 
or  e.xposition,  or  loving  fervent  prayer.  Nay,  if  you  cannot  ex- 
actly say  where  it  is,  if  it  be  as  diffused  and  yet  as  near  as  the 
atmosphere,  you  will  still  feel  that  this  is  none  other  than  the 
house  of  God  and  the  gate  of  heaven.  The  righteous  man  is 
always  satisfied.  The  good  and  honest  heart  never  goes  away  com- 
plaining. The  effect  of  truth  upon  the  candid  mind  is  an  effect 
of  perfect  happiness.  Judge  the  mind  you  brought  to  the  sanc- 
tuary by  the  result  which  accrues  from  its  service.  On  the  other 
hand,  let  a  man  go  to  the  house  of  God  with  a  prejudiced  mind, 
and  what  is  the  effect  of  prayer,  e.xposition,  truth,  upon  him  ? 
You  cannot  get  at  him.  He  is  behind  a  cloud  ;  he  is  ensheathed 
within  the  armour  of  an  impenetrable  hostility.  He  has  come  de- 
termined not  to  hear  what  he  ought  to  hear.  His  purpose  is 
to  find    fault,  to.  gratify  the   discontent  which  he    brought  with 


LIGHT  KILLING  AND  BLESSING.  167 

him  ;  nay,  it  is  even  to  prove  his  own  prophecy,  for  he  said  that 
such  and  such  would  be  the  result,  and  he  is  bound  to  confirm  his 
own  word.  Even  Christ  failed  before  the  power  of  prejudice. 
What  wonder,  then,  if  Stephen  also  failed  to  touch  the  soul  that 
had  enclosed  itself  within  the  most  aggravated  prejudices  which 
could  confine  even  a  Jewish  heart .? 

This  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  vital  question,  in  what  mind 
have  we  come  to  God' s  house  ?  For  what  purpose  have  we  open- 
ed His  book  }  God  says  himself,  to  the  froward  he  will  show 
himself  froward,  and  to  the  upright  he  will  show  himself  upright. 
God  will  be  to  us  as  we  are  to  him  in  these  sacred  things.  This 
was  Jesus  Christ's  method  of  revelation  to  those  who  heard  him. 
When  men  came  from  curiosity,  he  never  satisfied  them.  When 
they  reared  a  great  wall  of  prejudice  between  him  and  them,  he 
never  spoke  over  it,  but  turned  away.  He  was  a  thousand  Christs 
to  a  thousand  different  men.  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart  for 
they  shall  see  God."  "  To  this  man  will  I  look,  to  him  that  is  of 
a  broken  and  contrite  heart,  and  that  trembleth  at  My  word. ' ' 

The  truth  therefore  produces  one  of  two  effects.  It  saves  or  it 
kills.  It  raises  men  from  the  dead,  or  it  buries  them  in  a  grave 
sevenfold  deep.  Verily,  it  is  the  great  power  of  God.  Is  the 
spring  sun  which  is  now  shining  upon  us  doing  the  same  thing 
throughout  the  forest  and  the  garden  to  everything  he  finds  there } 
The  other  day  I  looked  upon  a  tree  that  was  full  of  blossom,  and 
under  its  wide-spreading  branches  I  saw  a  huge  limb  of  a  tree 
withering  away.  Was  the  sun  that  created  the  blossom  causing 
the  tree  branch  to  wither .?  Yes  ;  that  was  even  so.  To  the 
living  tree  whose  roots  were  struck  into  the  earth  the  sun  was  giv- 
ing life,  but  to  the  branch  cut  away,  having  nothing  but  itself  to 
live  upon,  the  sun  was  pouring  down  arrows  of  destruction.  The 
great  sun,  so  hospitably  full  of  light,  kind,  friendly,  was  feeding, 
like  a  mother-nurse,  the  living  tree,  and  was  killing  with  pitiless 
fire  the  sundered  branch.  As  is  the  double  effect  of  light,  so  is 
the  double  effect  of  truth.  The  question  therefore  comes  back, 
always.  What  are  we  in  relation  to  the  truth .?  What  is  our 
temper  ?  What  is  our  spirit .?  What  is  our  supreme  desire  }  If 
we  can  prove  that  we  have  brought  the  hunger,  and  God  has  not 
given  the  food,  then  we  convict  God  of  a  false  promise.  Who 
can  do  so  }     Nay,  rather  let  God  be  true,  and  every  man  a  liar. 


1 68  ACTS  VII.  54-60. 


But  how  difficult  it  is  to  find  the  reason  in  ourselves  when  the  re- 
sult is  not  satisfactory.  How  readily  we  blame  circumstances,  and 
persons,  and  situations.  Who  ever  puts  the  dart  into  his  own 
breast  saying,  I  only  am  to  blame  for  this  unhappy  effect  ?  Con- 
sider the  distance  that  lies  between  us  and  God.  Not  in  majesty, 
but  in  moral  sympathy.  We  do  not  like  to  entertain  God  in  our 
hearts.  The  Almighty  has  to  exercise  the  full  powers  of  His  om- 
nipotence to  bring  us  even  into  a  hearing  attitude.  We  do  not 
contribute  towards  the  miracle.  We  do  always  resist  the  Holy 
Ghost  ;  as  our  fathers  did  so  do  we.  If  we  seek  the  Lord  we  shall 
find  him.  If  we  come  to  the  house  of  God  for  the  truth  we  shall 
see  it.  If  we  return  with  disappointment  we  must  find  the  reason 
in  our  own  badness.  Do  I  accuse  men  who  do  not  accept  Chris- 
tian truth  of  insincerity } .  Most  certainly  not.  There  may  be 
men  listening  to  this  discourse  at  this  moment  who  have  not  ac- 
cepted Christ  as  I  have  accepted  him,  and  yet  they  may  be  per- 
fectly sincere.  No  good  is  to  be  gained  by  bandying  charges  of  in- 
sincerity. That  some  are  insincere  is  too  plain.  I  am  not  talk- 
ing of  all  who  reject  the  Gospel,  but  of  men  who  claim  to  be  of 
sincere  purpose,  earnestly  wishing  to  be  and  to  do  what  is  right 
Thus  would  I  conciliate  such  persons  ;  there  shall  be  no  contro- 
versy between  me  and  them  where  they  claim  consistency  of  purpose 
and  intent.  But  even  where  there  is  sincerity  there  may  be  a  sub- 
tle action  of  what  I  may  term  intellectual  vanity.  Not  always  a 
conscious  vanity.  Our  life  is  not  measured  by  our  consciousness 
alone  and  absolutely.  We  have  a  self  within  a  self,  and  another 
self  deeper  still.  We  are  many  selves.  Oftentimes  the  mind  is  its 
own  surprise.  Occasionally  we  feel  in  ourselves  the  beating  or 
throbbing  of  an  influence  we  cannot  name.  Astronomers  tell  us 
that  there  are  pertubations  here  and  there  which  signify  that  there 
is  a  planet  3'et  undiscovered  in  the  neighborhood  of  these  occa- 
sional and  singular  agitations.  The  planet  has  not  been  seen  ;  it 
has  not  been  named  ;  its  weight  and  measure  are  unknown,  but 
because  of  these  perturbations,  these  eccentric  movements,  the  ex- 
istence of  the  planet  is  known  to  be  a  fact.  Is  it  not  so  also  with 
us  }  For  a  time  we  go  on  equably,  regularly,  as  if  we  had  ascer- 
tained our  exact  intellectual  magnitude,  and  suddenly  a  new  pas- 
sion starts  up  in  the  soul.  P^ire  unfelt  before  pierces  us  like  a 
sting,  and  for  a  moment  we  are  other  than  our  usual  selves.     So 


UNCONSCIOUS  INTELLECTUAL   VANITY.  169 

there  may  be  a  conscious  or  an  unconscious  intellectual  vanity. 
See  what  a  man  has  to  give  up  in  accepting  God's  truth  in  the 
Gospel  !  He  has  to  give  up  his  own  respectability.  Who  can  do 
it  ?  He  has  to  surrender  his  own  infallibility.  He  has  to  say  to 
his  own  reason  many  a  time,  "  You  are  not  sufficient  for  this 
great  service.  Reason,  divinely  beautiful,  divinely  inspired, 
divinely  sanctified,  great  reason,  strong  and  noble  reason,  there  is 
a  region  you  cannot  enter,  and  there  is  a  fellowship  of  whose  lan- 
guage you  do  not  know  one  word.  Stand  thou  here  whilst  I  go 
up  to  worship  yonder."  A  man  has  to  surrender  a  good  deal 
before  he  falls  into  absolute  sympathy  with  the  will  and  mind  of 
Christ.  He  has,  so  to  say,  to  take  a  sponge  and  rub  out  all  his 
own  intellectual  inferences  and  conclusions,  and  make  blank 
places  of  room  which  he  thought  was  already  filled  with  inspira- 
tion. A  man  has  to  empty  both  hands  and  say,  "In  my  hands 
no  price  I  bring."  He  has  to  cast  out  of  his  heart  everything  of 
the  nature  of  self-idolatry  and  self-satisfaction,  and  has  to  say  in 
effect,  if  not  in  terms — 

"  A  guilty,  weak,  and  helpless  worm. 
On  Thy  kind  arms  I  fall." 

A  man  therefore  may  be,  from  his  own  point  of  view,  sincere,  and 
yet  his  mind  may  be  narrowed,  and  perverted,  and  limited  by  an 
unconscious  intellectual  vanity.  There  is  also  a  great  moral  diffi- 
culty. If  some  of  you  were  to  accept  the  Gospel  this  day  you 
could  not  go  to  business  to-morrow.  Christ  is  not  a  partner  in 
your  firm.  If  you  offered  him  a  share  for  nothing  he  would  de- 
cline it.  This  truth  would  shut  up  so  many  places.  Perhaps  the 
Stock  Exchange  would  not  be  opened  at  all  to-morrow  if  this 
Gospel  of  Christ  took  right  hold  of  the  soul  and  made  it  a  loving 
slave.  These  things  must  be  considered  in  estimating  the  double 
effect  of  the  truth.  A  man  may  be  sincere,  and  he  may  not  be 
conscious  of  intellectual  vanity,  and  yet  he  may  have  to  consider 
his  family  claims,  his  commercial  position,  his  success  in  life. 
He  may  say,  "  I  will  go  through  this  thicket  first,  and  then  I  will 
pray."  He  may  say,  "  I  do  not  deny  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible 
or  the  claim  of  the  Creator  upon  the  soul,  nor  do  I  deny  that 
there  is  more  truth  in  the  universe  than  I  have  yet  received  into 
my  mind  ;  but  if  I  begin  to-day  to  accept  Christ,  and  to  act  ac- 


[■JO  ACTS  VII.  54-60. 


cording  to  his  will,  I  could  not  live.  My  trade  is  a  bad  one  ;  it 
makes  people  poor  and  miserable,  and  it  misleads  the  unwary  and 
the  ignorant  ;  it  takes  into  its  iron  grip  the  savings  of  the  indus- 
trious ;  it  promises  great  interest  and  great  rewards  to  those  who 
trust  me,  and  I  do  not  see  how  I  can  at  present  give  it  up. ' '  A 
man  under  such  circumstances  is  tempted  to  gnash  upon  every 
Stephen  with  his  teeth,  to  call  him  rude,  offensive,  personal,  and 
to  cast  him  out  and  stone  him.  Do  not  suppose  that  stoning  was 
a  Jewish  method  of  treating  enemies.  Stoning  is  the  method  of 
all  countries  and  of  all  times.  We  stone  men  to-day.  We  make 
the  Bible  so  poor  by  trying  to  find  how  much  of  it  was  local  and 
temporary.  As  if  we,  the  leaders  of  civilization  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  never  stoned  anybody,  when  we  are  stoning  men  every 
day  !  We  throw  at  them  hard  words,  we  write  about  them  bitter 
things.  We  endeavour  to  limit,  if  not  to  destroy,  their  best  in- 
fluence. By  many  a  suggestion  we  seek  to  blunt  the  edge  of 
their  keenest  appeals  for  Christ.  Do  not,  therefore,  imagine  that 
stoning  went  out  of  fashion  with  the  ancient  Jews,  and  has  never 
been  heard  of  since. 

Now  comes  the  question.  What  is  the  effect  of  truth  upon  us } 
What  are  the  sermons  we  like  best .?  It  is  curious  to  listen  to  the 
notions  of  hearers  upon  that  question.  There  are  those  who 
praise  the  intellectual  sermon.  They  like  intellectual  truth. 
They  are  exceedingly  pleased  with  recondite  matter.  They  are 
charmed  to  look  into  depths  which  they  are  never  expected  them- 
selves to  sound.  That  is  useless,  and  worse  than  useless.  It  is 
not  preaching  at  all,  if  it  be  limited  to  the  intellectual  treatment 
of  spiritual  truth.  There  are  those  who  enjoy  the  poetical  treat- 
ment of  truth.  They  like  sweet  litde  touches  of  art,  phrases  bcau- 
[  tifully  cut,  diamond  phrases  with  facets  throwing  back  all  the  glory 
of  the  morning  sun.  That  is  useless  if  alone.  The  merely  in- 
tellectual will  do  you  no  good,  the  merely  imaginative  may  but 
lull  you  to  undeserved  rest.  What  then  do  we  want .'  We  want 
the  intellectual,  the  imaginative,  the  argumentative,  the  doctrinal. 
We  want  the  preaching  that  will  so  apply  itself  to  the  lives  of  men 
as  to  cause  them  to  cry  out,  "What  shall  we  do  .^"  Then  we 
want  the  great  Gospel  balm,  the  evangelical  redemption,  the  Cross 
of  Christ,  the  Blood  of  the  One  Victim,  the  Sacrifice,  all  that  goes 
to  make  up  God's  heart-offer  of  pardon  and  ])cacc.     So  would  I 


VARIETIES  OF  PREACHING.  171 

receive  into  my  confidence  and  love  preachers  of  all  kinds.  No 
one  preacher  is  all  preachers.  You  may  regard  that  statement  as 
trite  and  paradoxical,  but  it  is  significantly  true.  You  must  hear 
all  if  you  would  hear  the  complete  one.  Do  not  then  stop  any 
man  in  his  career  of  preaching.  Though  it  be  not  mine,  we  are 
fellow  servants,  brother  prophets,  men  united  in  a  holy  associa- 
tion, having  one  head,  one  truth,  the  one  supplementing  the 
other,  and  both  consenting  to  the  mastership  and  sovereignty  of 
Christ.  Do  not  imagine  that  the  truth  is  being  badly  preached 
because  it  is  seriously  opposed.  We  hear  of  those  who  think  it 
to  be  their  duty  to  attend  certain  meetings  and  gatherings  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  their  own  opinion  as  to  their  propriety.  It  is 
a  shocking  display  of  vanity.  Who  made  them  judges,  and  by 
what  standard  do  they  judge }  If  the  standard  itself  be  wrong, 
the  whole  judgment  is  useless  and  mischievous.  Who  made  them 
a  judge  in  God' s  sanctuary .?  The  only  standard  should  be  the 
out-coming  usefulness  of  the  service.  Show  me  men  edified  in 
the  faith,  strongly  built  up  in  all  holy  doctrine  and  thinking,  in- 
creasingly obedient  to  every  command  of  Christ,  becoming  gen- 
tler in  temper,  nobler  in  spirit ;  show  me  wicked  men  convicted, 
show  me  self-interested  men  crying  out  for  vengeance  ;  and  I  may 
conclude  that  God's  truth  is  being  preached  there  with  great  vig- 
our and  great  effect.  But  where  there  is  a  feeling  of  sleepiness, 
of  passive  acc^uiescence,  where  hearing  is  an  endurance  rather  than 
an  opposition  ;  where  there  is  no  opposition  because  there  is  no 
excitement ;  I  fear  that  though  much  may  have  been  said  about 
the  Gospel,  the  Gospel  itself  has  not  been  heard  in  the  majesty  of 
its  moral  dignity,  and  in  the  tenderness  of  its  redeeming  appeal. 


XIX. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  this  is  thine  house,  and  we  are  safe  in  it.  Thou  wilt 
not  suffer  the  very  least  of  us  to  perish.  There  is  no  death  in  thine 
house,  thou  Father  of  spirits.  We  come  to  thee  with  great  expectation, 
with  the  urgency  of  love  and  the  shame  and  sorrow  following  upon  per- 
sonal sin.  We  stand  by  the  Cross  ;  we  feel  its  falling  blood.  We  need 
it  all.  Cleanse  us,  and  we  shall  be  made  clean.  Multiply  thy  grace 
towards  us  until  our  sin  is  lost  in  its  fulness.  We  have  heard  of  thine 
abounding  grace.  Men  have  spoken  of  it  as  they  speak  of  overflowing 
rivers  and  fountains  of  water  covering  and  refreshing  the  land.  To  that 
grace  in  Christ  we  now  come.  We  all  come.  We  press  towards  it. 
There  is  no  reluctance  in  our  spirit,  but  a  great  constraint,  to  which  we 
yield  with  expectant  and  grateful  delight.  Liberate  us  from  the  bondage 
of  sin.  Destroy  the  dominion  of  guilt.  Let  the  grace  of  Christ  gather 
up  into  itself  the  sin  of  the  whole  world,  and  slay  it  for  ever.  We  love 
thine  house  :  behold,  it  is  not  far  from  heaven.  Into  it  the  angels  come 
with  sweet  messages.  Here  there  is  no  common  tongue,  no  inferior 
theme,  but  here  the  altar  burns  with  heavenly  fire,  and  the  whole  place  is 
radiant  with  light  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun.  Wondrous  light  ! 
Everywhere,  yet  not  taking  up  any  room  ;  falling  upon  the  whole  uni- 
verse, but  nowhere  as  a  burden.  We  live  in  thy  light  ;  without  it  we 
needs  must  die.  Let  thy  light  find  its  way  into  our  hearts,  there  to  nour- 
ish the  roots  of  all  good  things,  of  all  high  purpose,  all  noble  vows,  and 
all  desires  after  God.  Give  us  such  lifting  up  of  soul  as  shall  cause  us  to 
see  the  littleness  of  earth  and  the  vanity  of  time,  then  give  us  such  ideas 
of  duty  and  sacrifice  as  shall  bring  us  down  to  the  earth  again  to  do  its 
meanest  work  as  by  appointment  of  heaven.  May  we  not  be  amongst 
the  slothful  servants.  May  ours  be  a  life  of  religious  industry,  so  let  the 
Master  come  when  he  may,  in  the  morning  twilight  or  in  the  twilight  of 
evening,  or  in  the  bright  noon,  we  shall  be  ready  to  meet  him. 

Thou  art  taking  away  one  and  another  and  making  the  earth  poor. 
Thou  dost  remove  the  lamp  of  science,  and  silence  the  voice  of  eloquence. 
Thou  dost  show  us  that  no  man  is  needful  to  thy  purposes  upon  the 
earth.  Thou  alone  art  God,  we  are  but  men.  The  Lord  reigneth,  and 
on  his  throne  there  is  room  for  none  other.  It  is  enough.  It  is  eternal 
Sabbath,  it  is  infinite  freedom.  We  are  thy  servants,  and  in  thy  service 
is  liberty.  Spurn  us  not  from  thy  feet,  for  we  have  been  bought  by  the 
Son  of  thy  love,  by  the  Christ  of  God,  by  the  Priest  of  the  Universe. 


POPULAR  MISJUDGMENTS.  173 

Kelp  us  to  realize  the  littleness  of  our  life,  and  the  importance  of  immedi- 
ate action.  In  thy  Church  may  there  be  no  death.  May  we  all  live  lo 
the  very  last.  May  there  be  no  long  dying,  but  working  up  to  the  last 
moment,  and  then  passing  into  thy  peace.  Be  with  those  who  this  day 
mourn  their  dead,  to  whom  this  is  a  Sabbath  within  a  Sabbath,  who  have 
a  Church  at  home,  because  of  the  eloquent  that  speak  not.  May  they 
hear  the  eloquence  of  that  speechlessness,  and  pray  with  a  wider  compass 
and  with  a  tenderer  entreaty  of  love.  Destroy  death.  Thou  dost  hate  it. 
It  is  not  in  thyself.  It  is  not  in  thy  heaven.  There  no  fiower  fades,  no 
worm  eats  the  bud  of  the  summer.  Death  is  in  us  and  in  our  world,  and 
it  follows  quickly  the  footprints  of  our  sin.  Oh,  thou  Victor  over  the 
grave,  thou  raised  Christ,  Man  of  the  resurrection,  Conqueror  of  the 
tomb,  abolish  death  and  give  thy  people  to  feel  that  dying  is  living,  and 
that  farewell  in  our  world  is  a  salutation  in  a  better.  The  Lord  help  us  ; 
the  Lord  go  with  us  down  the  steep  places,  and  help  us  over  the  rugged 
crags  and  rocks  that  lie  in  the  way.  The  Lord  speak  to  the  last  black 
river,  and  let  it  divide  that  his  children  may  pass  over  as  on  dry  land. 
Amen. 

THE  DEFENCE   OF  STEPHEN. 
Acts  vii.  54-60   {continued). 

LET  us  now  turn  to  the  fourth  aspect  of  the  great  speech  of 
Stephen  ;  let  us  look  at  this  defence  as  refuting  some  prac- 
tical mistakes.  We  form  notions  of  things,  and  we  say  such 
notions  stand  to  reason,  and  that  being  so  rational  they  must  of 
necessity  be  right  and  wise,  and  therefore  indisputable.  It  is  very 
strange  to  observe  how  our  theories  and  preconceptions  are  upset 
by  facts.  Given  such  a  case  as  is  represented  in  the  seventh  chap- 
ter of  the  Acts,  to  find  what  the  issue  would  be,  and  there  would 
be  no  difiiculty  in  outlining  an  issue  of  considerable  pleasantness. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  issue  on  the  one  side  at  least  upsets  some 
of  the  most  mischievous  sophisms  which  vitiate  human  reasoning. 
For  example,  you  would  say  without  hesitation  that  character  will 
save  a  man  from  harm.  You  would  maintain  this  doctrine  with 
some  vehemence,  it  is  so  plausible.  The  very  sound  of  the  terms 
is  a  kind  of  argument  in  its  favor.  With  this  good  character  there 
will  be  a  good  passage  through  society.  Character  will  be  its  own 
introduction.  Character  will  be  its  own  defence.  Where  there  is 
nobleness  of  character  there  will  be  unanimity  of  blessing.  That 
would  be  so  in  certain  conditions  of  society,  but  those  conditions 
are  not  present  in  our  life.     There  are  certain  conditions  in  which 


174  ACTS  VII.  S4-6o. 


holiness  is  an  intolerable  offence.  It  mars  the  bad  harmony  of 
the  occasion.  It  stops  the  flow  of  evil  thinking  and  evil  speaking  : 
it  is  a  check  that  must  be  got  rid  of.  Stephen  was  a  man  of 
blameless  character,  wise,  benign,  kind  to  everybody,  a  servant  of 
the  Church,  devoted  to  his  ecclesiastical  business.  Yet  when  he 
was  called  upon  to  make  his  defence,  and  had  made  it,  his  char- 
acter stood  him  in  no  good  stead.  He  was  treated  as  an  offender. 
The  meanest  criminal  could  not  have  received  more  malignant 
treatment.  What,  then,  comes  of  your  theory  that  character  is  its 
own  defence  ?  A  bad  world  cannot  tolerate  good  men.  If  we 
were  better  we  should  be  the  sooner  got  rid  of.  It  is  our  gift  of 
compromise  that  keeps  us  going.  It  is  our  trick  of  playing  the 
double  game  that  saves  us  from  Stephen's  fate.  We  are  ambi- 
dexters. We  are  as  clever  with  one  hand  as  we  are  wi(h  the 
other,  and  it  is  this  faculty  that  may  be  preserving  us  from  a  simi- 
lar catastrophe. 

You  would  further  say  that  truth  needs  only  to  be  heard  in 
order  to  be  recognized  and  accepted.  Truth  carries  its  own  music. 
The  fragrance  of  truth  is  wafted  upon  every  wind,  and  all  passers- 
by  know  the  sacred  odour.  Only  let  a  man  stand  up  in  his  age 
and  speak  the  truth  with  a  clear  voice,  with  a  keen  accent,  with  a 
burning  earnestness,  and  men  will  recognize  it,  and  will  fall  down 
loyally  before  it  and  will  assist  in  its  coronation.  That  would  be 
the  theory,  what  is  the  fact .?  Show  where  truth  has  ever  been 
crowned  so  readily  and  harmoniously.  Truth  spoken  to  the  true 
will  always  be  so  received  but  truth  spoken  to  the  false  invites  a 
conflict  and  challenges  a  contest  of  strength.  It  is  not  enough, 
therefore,  that  you  have  the  truth  in  order  to  make  your  way  in 
the  world  instantly  and  successfully.  You  have  to  consider  the 
conditions  in  which  you  speak  the  truth.  If  men  were  really  in 
earnest  one  sermon  would  convert  the  world.  But  men  are  not  in 
earnest.  All  parts  of  a  man  are  not  equally  in  earnest.  There  is 
a  possibility  of  a  man  being  divided  against  himself  in  this  matter. 
Part  of  his  nature  votes  one  way,  and  part  another,  and  therefore 
truth  must  stand  outside  until  the  controversy  can  be  in  some  de- 
gree adjusted. 

Then  you  would,  in  the  third  place,  frankly  say  that  regularly 
constiliited  authorities  must  be  right.  You  smile  at  the  suggestion 
that  one  odd  man. can  have  tlie  truth,  and  seventy  regularly  train- 


SELF-INSPIRATION  SUSPECTED.  175 

ed  and  constitutionally  appointed  men  do  not  know  the  reality  of 
the  case  in  dispute.  You  would  contend  that  it  stands  to  reason 
that  it  must  be  so.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  court  does  not 
understand  the  truth  better  than  an  anonymous  blasphemer  called 
Stephen  ?  Anonymous  so  far  as  social  influence  and  social  stand- 
ing are  concerned.  Consider  the  case.  The  Church  must  be 
right ;  the  court  must  be  infallible.  We  cannot  allow  ourselves 
to  be  bewildered  and  befooled  by  eccentric  reformers  and  by  in- 
dividual assailants.  All  history  reverses  such  opinions  and  mis- 
conceptions. The  truth,  it  would  seem,  has  always  been  with  the 
one  man.  It  is  when  a  man  is  alone  that  you  get  him  in  reality 
and  in  the  sum  total  of  his  being.  The  moment  another  man 
joins  him  he  is  less  than  he  was  before.  The  moment  a  man  en- 
ters into  a  congregation  he  loses  the  most  of  himself.  The  sense 
of  individual  responsibility  is  almost  lost.  Your  friend  is  not  the 
same  to  you  in  a  crowd  as  when  he  is  face  to  face  with  you  alone. 
Then  you  have  him  in  the  totality  of  his  powers,  affections,  sym- 
pathies. So  the  Almighty  seems  to  have  elected  the  individual 
man,  and  through  him  to  have  spoken  to  the  crowd,  the  multi- 
tude, or  the  race.  It  does  seem  singular  that  the  regularly  consti- 
tuted authority  should  be  wrong,  and  that  the  one  man  should 
have  God's  message.  But  he  has  not  God's  message  simply 
because  he  happens  to  be  one.  He  must  not  inspire  himself. 
No  man  is  called  upon  to  make  a  self-election.  You  are  not  great 
because  you  are  eccentric.  You  are  not  wise  because  you  are 
solitary.  Do  look  at  both  sides,  and  indeed  all  sides  of  the  case, 
and  gather  wisdom  from  the  widest  inferences.  But  being  called, 
being  inspired,  having  within  you  the  assurance  that  what  you 
know  is  the  truth,  and  being  prepared  to  establish  that  assurance 
by  daily  sacrifice,  daily  humiliation,  and  daily  pain,  go  forward, 
and  at  the  last  the  vindication  will  come. 

Another  mistake  which  this  great  defence  refutes  is  ikx^iX. personal 
deliverance  in  trial  is  the  only  possible  providence.  Look  upon  the 
case.  Stephen  is  one  ;  the  enemy  is  many.  God  is  supposed  to 
be  looking  on.  What  did  God  do  for  Stephen  .?  Let  us  sit  in 
judgment  upon  this,  and  suppose  a  possible  interposition  of  the 
divine  hand.  Instantly  we  should  say  there  is  only  one  thing  that 
God  can  do,  and  that  is  to  lift  his  servant  right  up  above  the 
crowd,  and  place  him  securely  beyond  the  reach  of  his  infuriated 


176  ACTS  VII.  54-60. 


opponents.  What  a  childish  solution  of  the  difficulty  !  Why  that 
is  the  very  idea  that  would  occur  to  the  simplest  mind  that  could 
look  at  the  case.  It  is  the  first  rush  at  a  popular  riddle.  There  is 
nothing  in  that  answer.  If  that  were  God's  method  of  deliver- 
ance, his  method  of  prevention  would  balance  it,  therefore  there 
would  never  be  any  need  of  deliverance  at  all.  Does  the  infinite 
Father  wait  until  his  children  are  in  this  position,  and  then  simply 
extricate  them  from  personal  danger  }  If  that  could  be  his  method 
at  one  end,  it  would  be  balanced  by  a  similar  method  at  the 
other  ;  and  therefore,  let  us  repeat,  his  children  never  could  be  in 
any  difficulty  at  all.  There  must  be  something  better,  something 
grander  than  this.  What  it  is  I  cannot  tell  until  I  have  read  the 
revelation.  But  my  whole  nature  says  that  simply  to  loose  the 
man  and  send  him  home  from  among  the  crowd  would  have  been 
a  defence  worthy  only  of  a  manufactured  deity.  What  did  God 
do  for  Stephen  under  the  painful  circumstances  of  the  case  .?  He 
wrought  upon  the  inner  spirit  and  thought  of  His  suffering  one. 
The  miracle  was  wrought  within.  "Lord,  la}''  not  this  sin  to 
their  charge."  Any  miracle  of  merely  personal  deliverance  set 
side  by  side  with  that  miracle  of  grace  would  be  an  anti-climax 
and  a  pitiful  commonplace.  If  Stephen  had  been  delivered  bod- 
ily, and  had  then  uttered  this  prayer,  it  would  have  been  but  a 
mocking  sentiment.  It  would  have  belonged  to  an  effervescent 
nature,  that  being  unduly  urged  by  a  sense  of  selfish  gratitude 
wanted  to  play  a  magnanimous  part  in  relation  to  parties  who  had 
been  defrauded  of  their  prey.  But  wounded,  worsted,  over- 
whelmed, without  comfort,  without  hope,  sure  only  of  one  thing, 
and  that  thing  death,  he  said,  "  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their 
charge."  It  was  amoral  miracle;  it  was  a  spiritual  conquest; 
and  any  religion  that  will  evoke  such  a  spirit,  in  its  believers,  and 
lead  them  under  such  circumstances  to  offer  such  prayers,  needs 
no  vindication  of  its  divinity.  This  is  the  eternal  miracle  of  Chris- 
tian faith.  It  enables  men  in  the  most  distressing  circumstances 
of  life  to  forgive  animosity.  Who  can  perform  that  miracle  but 
God  ?  Silence  might  have  been  a  sullen  acquiescence  in  an  inex- 
orable fate.  But  under  such  circumstances,  to  pray,  to  pray  for 
others,  to  pray  for  forgiveness,  is  a  sublimity  of  faith  we  can  never 
know,  because  we  can  never  live  the  martyr's  life.  But  if  in  these 
high,  heroic  heights  we  cannot  so  discover  the  sublimity  of  Chris- 


SPIRITUAL   VISION.  177 

tian  faith  and  patience,  there  are  lower  levels  open  to  us  every  day, 
along  which  we  may  move  with  the  grace  of  men  who  can  suffer 
and  be  strong,  who  can  be  stoned  and  yet  pray  for  the  forgiveness 
of  those  who  inflict  injury  upon  us.  If  we  could  pray  for  forgive- 
ness on  account  of  others,  and  could  really  ourselves  forgive,  our 
Christianity  would  be  its  own  unanswerable  and  triumphant  de- 
fence. 

Another  mistake  which  is  refuted  by  this  issue  is,  that  life  is 
limited  by  that  which  is  open  to  the  eyes  of  the  body.  It  would  have 
been  a  poor  case  for  Stephen  but  for  the  invisible.  "  If  in  this  life 
only  we  have  hope,  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable. ' '  Moses 
endured  as  seeing  the  invisible.  The  old  pilgrims  sandalled  their 
feet  and  grasped  their  staves  with  a  braver  confidence  day  by  day, 
because  they  "sought  a  country  out  of  sight."  Should  we  be  the 
sport  of  accident,  feathers  driven  by  the  fickle  wind,  if  we  could 
see  heaven  open  }  We  should  bear  our  losses  as  if  they  were  in- 
crease of  riches  if  we  could  see  the  opening  heavens.  Stephen 
said,  "  I  see  heaven  opened,  and  the  Son  of  Man  standing  on  the 
right  hand  of  God. ' '  We  see  nothing  now  but  flat  surfaces  badly 
coloured,  paint  without  blood,  feature  without  fire.  We  have  not 
had  the  baptism  of  suffering  which  gives  a  man  the  inner  vision 
— heart-eyes,  to  whose  penetration  there  is  no  night.  Blessed  are 
the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God.  I  see — that  is  the  cry  of 
Christian  experience.  I  see  the  meaning.  I  see  the  further  shore. 
I  see  God's  purpose.  These  sights  come  upon  a  man  in  sublime 
tragedies,  in  last  crises,  in  the  hour  and  article  of  death.  In  great 
dangers  God  shows  us  great  sights.  What  did  Elisha  ask  the  Lord 
to  do  in  the  case  of  the  young  man  who  saw  the  gathering  hosts 
surrounding  his  prophet  master.?  Elisha' s  brief  but  comprehen- 
sive desire  was  "  Lord,  open  his  eyes  that  he  may  see."  That  is 
all  we  want.  The  enemy  is  near,  I  know  it  :  but  the  friend  is 
nearer.  God  can  come  in  where  there  seems  to  be  no  room. 
Like  his  own  light  he  fills  all  space,  and  yet  leaves  room  for  every 
mountain,  planet,  and  blade  of  grass.  He  fills  all  room,  and 
leaves  all.  The  angels  are  nearer  than  we  suppose.  Things  are 
not  most  against  us  when  they  so  seem  to  be.  What  we  want  is 
vision,  sight  of  the  heart,  inner  eyes,  and  these  are  the  gift  of  God. 

"  I  see."  Stephen's  spiritual  faith  made  him  forget  that  he  had 
a  body.      Think  of  trusting  his  spirit  to  a  God  that  had  allowed 


178  ACTS  VII.  54-60. 


his  body  to  be  killed  !  This  is  the  sublimity  of  faith.  Did 
Stephen  say,  "  God  has  taken  no  care  of  my  body,  and  therefore 
he  will  take  no  care  of  my  spirit .?' '  That  would  be  rough  reason- 
ing, a  chain  without  links,  an  empty  nothing.  Stephen  showed  in 
this  crisis  what  the  spirit  can  do.  He  showed  what  it  is  in  the 
power  of  the  heart  to  accomplish.  When  the  spirit  is  inspired, 
■when  the  heart  is  sanctified,  when  heaven  is  opened,  when  Christ 
rises  to  receive  the  guest,  there  is  no  flesh,  there  is  no  pain,  there 
is  no  consciousness  but  in  the  presence  of  God,  the  absorption  of 
the  heart  in  the  infinite  love.  If  you  feel  the  body  it  is  for  want 
of  the  thorough  sanctification  of  the  spirit.  If  the  flesh  is  an  en- 
cumbrance to  you  it  is  because  the  spirit  has  not  finished  its  edu- 
cation. When  the  heart  seizes  God  as  an  inheritance  it  fears  not 
them  that  kill  the  body,  and  after  that  have  no  more  that  they 
can  do.  The  supreme  concern  of  man  ought  to  be  not  as  to  the 
fate  of  his  body,  but  as  to  the  destiny  of  his  soul.  What  has  hap- 
pened to  the  Church  }  Nothing  that  was  not  foretold  by  Christ. 
This  whole  tragedy  had  been  foreseen  and  fore-described.  Before 
Christ  sent  out  his  messengers  he  told  them  exactly  what  would 
befall  them.  He  took  care  to  reveal  all  the  sorrow,  he  spared 
nothing  of  the  dark  side  of  the  picture.  He  said  to  the  messen- 
gers in  effect,  "  They  will  hate  you,  persecute  you,  starve  you, 
bring  you  up  before  kings  and  judges,  they  will  not  hear  half  that 
you  have  to  say,  they  will  spit  upon  you,  they  will  tear  away  from 
you  every  endearment  of  life,  they  will  turn  your  day  into  night, 
they  will  mingle  poison  in  your  drink,  they  will  tear  you  bone 
from  bone,  they  will  set  fire  to  your  quivering  flesh,  they  will 
thrust  you  down  into  a  nameless  and  dishonoured  grave — if  they 
can."  The  messengers  went  out  not  under  summer  skies,  blue  as 
the  morning  of  heaven,  but  they  went  out  under  a  cloud  of  infinite 
thunder,  and  they  knew  that  at  any  moment  that  terrific  cloud 
might  burst  and  they  be  overwhelmed  in  the  storm.  How  have 
you  gone  out  from  Christ.?  To  exchange  opinions,  to  bandy 
notions  with  men  to  compare  your  last  intellectual  drivellings  one 
with  another?  You  have  gone  out  to  take  a  year's  rest,  during 
which  time  you  may  revise  your  theological  conclusions.  You 
will  not  be  martyrs  I  You  will  come  home  without  a  spot  upon 
your  garments  that  will  betray  hard  travelling,  and  without  a  single 
sign  of  anybody  having  ever  been  fluttered  for  one  moment  by 


f  STEPHEN'S  LONG  LIFE.  179 

your  most  innocuous  presence.  How  have  you  gone  out  from 
Christ  ?  To  be  his  ministers,  to  speak  the  truth,  to  set  fire  to  er- 
ror, to  beard  the  Hon  in  his  den,  to  challenge  the  hosts  of  dark- 
ness ?  Then  Christ's  word  will  be  realized  in  your  case,  for  the 
word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever. 

Stephen  condensed  a  long  life  into  a  few  days.  But  recently  we 
have  seen  he  was  appointed  to  his  office,  and  now  he  lies  bruised, 
mangled,  killed.  Yet  he  had  a  long  life.  He  may  live  again  in 
the  young  man  at  whose  feet  his  clothes  were  laid  down.  That 
young  man  may  rave  awhile,  but  in  his  raving  he  is  only  trying  to 
quiet  his  conscience.  It  will  be  needful  for  this  man  Saul  to  be 
very  violent  for  a  time,  in  order  to  keep  out  of  his  ears  appeals  he 
would  rather  not  hear.  He  will  try  to  find  in  madness  a  solace 
for  what  he  has  done.  It  is  a  trick  of  our  fallen  nature.  We  do 
the  wrong  thing,  and  then  run  away  in  order  to  lose  in  violence 
the  sense  of  what  we  have  done.  Stephen's  resurrection  in  cer- 
tain spiritual  senses  may  take  place  in  Saul.  We  do  not  know 
who  is  hearing  us,  or  who  is  watching  us,  or  into  whom  we  are 
transfusing  our  spirit.  We  live  in  one  another.  God  maketh  the 
wrath  of  man  to  praise  him.  What  if  by-and-bye  we  find  Saul 
modelling  his  own  speeches  upon  the  lines  of  Stephen's  defence, 
and  longing  to  be  stoned,  that  he  may  find  in  this  suffering  some 
compensation  for  painful  memories  .?  We  cannot  tell.  Life  is  a 
mystery,  and  time  its  explanation. 


XX. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  thy  hand  is  very  strong.  Make  bare  thine  arm  in  the 
midst  of  the  nations,  and  show  us  that  thou  art  still  the  King.  Men  for- 
get themselves,  and  with  much  rioting  of  weakness  they  rebel  against  thy 
will,  but  when  thou  dost  arise  in  thy  great  strength  the  nations  shall  know 
themselves  to  be  but  men.  They  are  a  wind  that  cometh  for  a  little  time 
then  vanisheth  away.  There  is  none  abiding  like  thyself.  Thou  only 
art  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever.  All  else  is  changing.  Thou 
hast  said  of  thyself,  "  I  am  the  Lord,  I  change  not."  May  we  hide  our- 
selves in  thy  unchangeableness,  and  know  that  our  eternity  is  secured  not 
by  ourselves,  but  by  thy  Almightiness.  Lift  us  up  this  day  from  the 
dust,  and  give  us  an  outlook  over  the  wider  world.  Deliver  us  from  the 
prison  of  darkness,  and  from  the  river  of  trouble,  and  lift  us  up  into  the 
holy  hills  whence  "we  can  see  the  morning  glory,  and  where  we  can  over- 
hear the  songs  of  the  better  land.  This,  our  desire,  we  breathe  at  the 
Tross.  At  the  Cross  we  learn  how  to  pray.  Is  not  the  Cross  the  open 
door  into  heaven  ?  Without  it  we  have  no  access  to  the  Father.  Lord, 
help  us  to  cling  to  the  Cross  with  our  whole  strength,  and  niay  the  fire  of 
our  life  renew  itself  every  day  in  sight  of  the  Cross  of  Christ.  Our  life  is 
wasting  away.  Its  days  are  becoming  fewer.  The  most  of  them  may 
possibly  be  behind  us.  May  we  now  be  children  of  the  day,  walking  in 
the  light,  doing  heartily  thy  will,  the  eyes  of  our  understanding  being 
enlightened.  And  may  our  heart  glow  with  a  new  expectation.  We 
humbly  pray  thee  show  us  thy  goodness  in  the  future,  as  thou  hast  shown 
it  unto  us  in  the  past.  Keep  back  ^nothing  of  thy  mercy.  One  drop  the 
less,  and  we  shall  die  of  thirst.  We  need  all  thy  help.  We  are  so  weak, 
so  poor,  so  empty  of  all  goodness  and  strength,  that  we  need  God  the 
Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost  to  sustain  and  keep  us  in 
the  right  path,  and  feed  us  with  the  bread  of  heaven. 

We  bring  our  Psalm  into  thine  house,  great,  holy,  noble  Psalm.  It  is 
meant  to  express  our  love.  Thou  wilt  receive  it  in  this  meaning,  and 
send  back  still  nobler  music  in  reply.  We  put  ourselves  every  day  into 
thy  keeping.  Rock  the  cradle,  make  the  bed  of  the  afflicted,  deal  out 
bread  to  the  hungry,  and  send  a  gospel  to  him  that  is  in  despair.  Let  the 
heavens  make  the  earth  glad  to-day.  The  heavens  are  older  than  the 
earth.  Let  eternity  send  out  its  benediction  so  that  time  may  be  crowned 
as  with  a  blessing  from  God.  Thou  knowest  what  we  need  most.  Do 
not  withhold  it."    For  Christ's  sake,  give  it  to  every  man.     When  we 


THE   TEXT.  i8i 


-Stumble,  see  that  we  fall  not  utterly,  and  when  the  darkness  is  thickest, 
let  the  pressure  of  thy  hand  be  tenderest.  Make  a  way  for  us  where  there 
is  no  path.  Melt  the  stones  that  hinder  our  progress,  and  as  for  the 
mountains  that  would  keep  us  back,  touch  them  with  thy  finger,  and  they 
shall  arise  like  smoke.  Be  a  buckler  to  us  in  the  day  of  battle.  Give  us 
the  sword,  and  the  shield,  and  the  helmet,  and  cover  us  in  the  day  of 
danger. 

Make  us  like  the  One  Perfect  man.  Yea,  make  us  like  the  Sen  o^God. 
Is  he  not  the  brightness  of  thine  image  ?  has  he  not  revealed  to  us  the 
glory  of  thy  person  ?  May  we  be,  as  he  was,  pure,  true,  full  of  loving, 
meek,  all-enduring  self-sacrifice— marred  more  than  any  man,  but  victori- 
ous even  in  sorrow. 

The  Lord  hear  our  prayer  for  the  little  child,  for  the  sick  life,  for  the 
weary  traveller,  for  the  absent  one,  for  the  wandering  prodigal,  for  the 
sinner  who  dare  not  look  back  lest  he  should  see  nothing  but  darkness, 
and  sword,  and  penalty.  Send  thou  messages  over  the  sea  to  our  dear 
ones  in  the  far-away  home  who  are  wondering  about  us,  and  returning 
our  prayer  with  many  supplications.  Help  us  to  live  the  few  years  that 
may  yet  remain,  nobly,  wisely,  and  well.  Work  in  us  all  the  good  pleas- 
ure of  thy  will,  and  the  work  of  faith  with  power.  Strengthen  our  hold 
upon  things  eternal.  May  we  be  right,  so  that  whether  the  Lord  come 
now  or  then,  at  midnight,  or  at  the  crowing  of  the  cock,  or  in  the  broad 
noontide,  we  may  all  be  more  than  ready.     Amen. 

Acts  viii.  1-8. 

1.  And  Saul  was  consenting  (same  Greek  word  in  Luke  xi.  48)  unto  his 
death.  And  at  that  time  there  was  a  great  persecution  against  the  church 
which  was  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  they  were  all  scattered  abroad  [foretold  by 
Christ  ;  Acts  i.  8]  throughout  the  regions  of  Judea  and  Samaria  [the 
teaching  of  the  apostles  must  have  been  with  great  power  to  break  through 
the  long-standing  prejudices  of  their  Jewish  converts  against  the  Samari- 
tans] except  the  apostles. 

2.  And  devout  men  carried  Stephen  to  his  burial,  and  made  great 
lamentation  [implying  beating  on  the  breast]  over  him. 

3.  As  for  Saul,  he  made  havoc  [like  the  ravages  of  wild  beasts  ;  Ps. 
Ixxx.  13],  of  the  church,  entering  into  every  house  [making  search  every- 
where], and  haling  men  and  women  committed  them  to  prison. 

4.  Therefore  they  that  were  scattered  abroad  went  everywhere  preach- 
ing the  word  [evangelizing  the  word]. 

5.  Then  Philip  [mentioned  only  in  this  chapter,  and  in  chapter  xxi.  8] 
went  down  to  the  city  of  Samaria,  and  preached  [proclaimed]  Christ  unto 
them. 

6.  And  the  people  [the  multitudes]  with  one  accord  gave  heed  unto 
those  things  which  Philip  spake,  hearing  and  seeing  the  miracles  which 
he  did. 


1 82  ACTS  VIII.  1-8. 


7.  For  unclean  spirits,  crying  with  loud  voice,  came  out  of  many  that 
were  possessed  with  them  :  and  many  taken  with  palsies,  and  that  were 
lame,  were  healed. 

8.  And  there  was  great  joy  in  that  city. 

THREE  GREAT  FIGURES  IN  THE  CHURCH. 

IN  this  part  of  the  narrative  the  name  of  Saul  occurs  three  times. 
In  the  seventh  chapter  and  fifty-eighth  verse  we  read,  "  The 
witnesses  laid  down  their  clothes  at  a  young  man's  feet,  whose  name 
was  Saul."  In  the  first  verse  of  the  eighth  chapter  we  read, 
"  And  Saul  was  consenting  unto  his  death."  In  the  third  verse  of 
the  same  chapter  we  read,  ' '  As  for  Saul  he  made  havoc  of  the 
Church,  entering  into  every  house,  and  haling  men  and  women 
he  committed  them  to  prison."  He  was  an  apt  scholar.  He 
made  rapid  progress  in  his  bad  learning.  Observe  how  quick  is 
the  development  and  how  sure  !  First  of  all,  he  watched  the 
clothes  of  the  men  who  stoned  Stephen  ;  then  he  expressed  in 
every  feature  of  his  face  satisfaction  and  gladness  on  account  of  the 
death  of  Stephen  ;  and  in  the  third  place,  he  took  up  the  matter 
earnestly  himself  with  both  hands,  being  no  longer  a  negative 
participator  but  an  active  worker.  He  struck  the  Church  as  it 
had  never  been  struck  before  ;  he  made  havoc  of  the  Christian* 
society  ;  women  were  as  men  to  him,  and  men  as  women  ;  and 
having  secured  the  keys  of  the  prison,  he  crowded  the  dungeons 
with  Christian  suppliants.  The  taste  for  blood  is  an  acquired  taste, 
but  "  it  grows  by  what  it  feeds  on."  This  man  Saul  began  as  he 
ended.  There  was  nothing  ambiguous  about  him.  He  was  posi- 
tive, well  defined  in  purpose,  resolute  in  will,  invincible  in  deter- 
mination.    A  tremendous  foe,  a  glorious  friend  ! 

We  see  from  this  part  of  the  narrative  what  we  have  seen  often 
before — the  power  of  the  Christian  religion  to  excite  the  worst pas- 
\sions  of  men.  It  is  a  "  savour  of  life  unto  life,  or  of  death  unto 
death."  It  is  like  Saul  himself  ;  for  Saul  was  a  true  man  whether 
persecuting  the  Church  or  defending  it.  Christianity  either  kills 
or  saves.  It  is  either  the  brightness  of  day,  or  the  darkness  of 
night  in  a  man's  life.  I  am  afraid  we  have  become  so  familiar 
with  it  externally  as  to  cast  by  our  own  spirit  and  demeanour  a 
doubt  upon  this  veritable  proposition.  Set  it  down  as  the  most 
melancholy  of  .facts  that  it  has  become  possible  for  nominal  Chris- 


THE  DOGMATISM  OF  TRUTH.  183 

tian  believers  to  care  nothing  about  thieir  faith.  They  have  de- 
graded it,  so  that  it  now  chaffers  with  infidels,  doubters,  and  even 
mockers.  The  faith  that  used  to  hold  no  parley  with  unbelievers 
is  now  fagged  with  much  walking  on  the  common  road  begging, 
asking  leave  to  hold  discussion,  and  apologizing  for  suggesting 
its  own  revelation.  The  age  has  been  seized  with  what  is  known 
as  a  horror  of  dogmatism.  But  Christianity  is  nothing  if  it  is  not 
dogmatic.  It  has  no  reason  for  its  existence  if  it  be  not  positive. 
If  it  be  one  of  many,  saying,  "  You  have  heard  the  others,  will 
you  be  good  enough  to  hear  me?"  it  is  not  what  it  professes. 
Poetry  may  hold  parley  with  prose  fiction,  because  they  belong  to 
the  same  category.  They  are  dreaming,  guessing,  shaping 
thoughts  into  aptest  forms.  Daintily  selecting  dainty  words  for 
dainty  thinking.  But  arithmetic  can  hold  no  parley  with  poetry. 
Arithmetic  does  not  say,  "  If  you  will  allow  me,  I  may  venture  to 
suggest  that  the  multiplication  of  such  and  such  numbers  may 
possibly  result  in  such  and  such  a  total."  Poetry  admits  of  mal- 
leability, it  may  be  moulded  and  shaped  into  new  forms  ;  but 
arithmetic  admits  of  no  manipulation  of  that  kind.  It  is  com- 
plete, final,  positive,  and  unanswerable.  Now,  in  proportion  as 
any  religion  is  true,  can  it  not  stoop  to  the  holding  of  conversa- 
tion with  anybody.  It  reveals,  proclaims,  announces,  thunders. 
It  is  not  a  suggestion — it  is  a  revelation.  It  is  not  a  puzzle,  to 
which  a  hundred  answers  may  be  given  by  wits  keen  at  guessing  ; 
it  is  an  oracle,  and  every  syllable  is  rich  with  the  gold  of  wisdom. 
Clearly  understand  what  is  meant.  The  dogmatism  of  truth  is  one 
thing,  and  the  dogmatism  of  the  imperfect  teacher  is  another.  The 
dogmatism  of  the  priest  is  to  be  resisted,  if  it  be  justified  only  by 
official  descent  or  official  relation,  but  truth  viust  be  dogmatic,  that 
is,  positive,  absolute  without  ambiguity.  Clear  in  its  own  con- 
.ception,  clear  in  its  positive  demands,  clear  in  its  rewards  and  its 
punishments.  Can  you  wonder,  then,  that  a  religion — namely, 
the  Christian  faith— which  claimed  to  be  the  very  voice  and  glory 
of  God,  should  have  encountered  this  unpitying  and  most  malig- 
nant hostility }  If  it  could  have  come  crouchingly,  or  apologeti- 
cally, and  have  said,  "I  think,  I  suggest,  I  hope,"  it  might 
have  been  heard  at  the  world's  convenience.  But  it  came  other- 
wise. It  came  with  angels'  songs  in  the  upper  air,  a  miraculous 
conception,   a  voice  saying,  "  This  is  My  beloved  Son,   hear  ye 


1 84  ACTS   VIII.  i-f 


Him."  Being  true,  it  could  not  have  come  otherwise,  but  so 
coming-  it  raised  the  world  into  antagonism  and  deadly  conflict. 
So  will  every  true  life.  We  have  no  enemies  because  we  have  no 
Gospel.  We  live  in  a  humble  and  respectable  obscurity,  because 
we  say  nothing.  We  pass  along  pretty  easily,  because  we  annoy 
no  man's  prejudices,  or  naughtinesses,  or  indulgences.  We  dash 
no  man's  gods  to  the  ground  ;  we  stamp  on  no  man's  idolatries  ; 
and  so  we  have  no  martyrs.  In  olden  times  Christianity  attacked 
the  most  formidable  citadels  of  thought,  prejudcice,  and  error, 
and  brought  upon  itself  the  fist  of  angry  retaliation. 

In  this  part  of  the  narrative  we  see  that  the  success  of  the  enemy 
was  turned  into  his  deadliest  failure.  Read  the  fourth  verse  in 
proof.  "  Therefore  they  that  were  scattered  abroad  went  every- 
where preaching  the  Word."  They  did  not  go  everywhere  with 
shame  burning  on  their  cheek,  nor  did  they  go  everywhere  with  a 
leaden  weight  upon  their  once  nimble  tongues,  nor  did  they  go 
everywhere  whining  and  moaning  and  complaining  that  they  were 
doomed  to  a  useless  life.  They  were  taught  eloquence  by  perse- 1 
cution.  They  were  made  Evangelists  by  suffering.  That  is  the 
true  way  of  treating  every  kind  of  assault.  When  the  pulpit  is 
assailed  as  being  behind  the  age,  let  the  pulpit  preach  better  than 
ever  and  more  than  ever,  and  let  that  be  its  triumphant  reply. 
When  Christianity  is  assailed,  publish  it  the  more.  Give  it  air,  give 
it  liberty,  give  it  a  wider  constituency.  Evangelization  is  the  best 
reply  to  every  form  of  assault.  How  do  we  treat  our  little  and 
very  tepid  persecutions  say  of  an  intellectual  kind  ?  We  retire  to 
consider  the  case.  We  ask  for  a  year's  leave  of  absence  from  the 
pulpit,  that  we  may  revise  our  theological  position.  Do  you  won- 
der that  such  a  method  of  encountering  intellectual  opposition 
should  leave  the  field  almost  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  .^ 
When  will  we  learn  Christ's  method  and  the  Apostles'  method  of 
meeting  such  hostility  t  More  hostility  should  be  more  preach- 
ing ;  more  persecution  should  be  more  prayer.  We  have  mis- 
taken the  method  wholly.  We  have  been  wanting  in  resoluteness 
and  directness.  Do  not  let  us  be  driven  away  by  mockery,  or 
silenced  by  flattery,  or  overweighted  by  prejudice,  or  deterred  by 
fear.  Christianity  has  one  answer  to  every  assault,  and  that  is 
another  statement  of  its  claim,  a  louder  and  clearer  utterance  of 
its  heavenly  authority!   "They  that  were  scattered  abroail  went 


TWO  NEW  GRAVES.  185 

everywhere  preaching  the  Word."  The  seed  shaken  out  by  the 
wind  was  carried  by  the  wind  to  other  fields.  It  dropped  into 
open  soil,  and  grew  up  a  hundred-fold. 

In  this  part  of  the  narrative  we  see  Christianity  followed  by  its 
proper  result.  You  find  that  result  stated  in  the  eighth  verse, 
"And  there  was  great  joy  in  that  city."  Joy  was  a  word  that 
was  early  associated  with  Christianity.  Said  the  Angel,  "  I  bring 
you  good  tidings  of  greatybj'."  Where  is  that  singing,  holy  joy  } 
Not  in  the  Church.  We  are  gloomy,  despairing,  uncertain.  We 
have  lost  the  music,  we  have  retained  the  tears.  The  Church 
ought  to  be  a  very  fountain  of  joy,  delight,  triumph.  Instead  of 
that  the  Church  is  a  valley  of  tears.  The  Church  looks  upon 
death  and  sighs.  The  Church  is  gifted  in  sighing.  The  Church 
that  used  to  have  a  voice  like  a  band  of  music,  that  used  to  lift  its 
blood-red  banner  high  in  the  air,  and  shake  it  with  the  defiance  of 
already  attained  and  unchangeable  victory.  There  ought  to  be 
no  death  in  the  Church  :  Christ  hath  abolished  death.  And  tears 
should  be  but  dew,  to  be  exhaled  in  the  sun  and  carried  up  to 
enlarge  and  beautify  the  rainbow  of  promise.  Why  this  sighing, 
fainting,  doubting }  The  revelling  is  now  in  the  other  house. 
It  used  to  be  in  our  Father's  House  that  there  was  music,  and 
dancing,  and  feasting,  and  great  festival  of  joy.  We  have  lost  the 
trumpet,  and  the  cymbals,  and  the  dances,  and  the  holy  merri- 
ment, and  now  we  are  langishing  like  men  who  are  simply  wait- 
ing the  coming  of  the  executioner. 

Looking  at  the  narrative  from  another  point  of  view,  we  may  say 
that  already  there  are  iivo  graves  in  the  early  Church.  Since  we 
began  this  reading  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  we  have  seen  two 
graves  opened.  In  the  one  grave  lie  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  in  the 
grave  opened  to-day  there  lies  Stephen,  over  whom  devout  men 
made  great  lamentation.  Already  the  old  story  writes  its  record  in 
the  documents  of  the  Apostolic  Church  !  In  one  or  other  of  these 
graves  we  must  be  buried  !  Which  shall  be  our  resting-place } 
Over  the  first  there  was  no  lamentation,  no  tears  were  shed,  no 
hearts  broke  in  pity  and  in  grief.  The  occupants  of  that  grave 
were  shot  with  the  lightning  of  God  !  Sad  grave  !  Pit  deep, 
black,  hopeless  !  The  liars'  retreat,  the  hypocrites'  nameless  hid- 
ing-place I  No  loving  one  goes  thither  to  lay  a  white  flower  on 
the  black  sod.     Will  you  be  buried  there?      Lightning-struck, 


1 86  ACTS  VIII.  1-8. 


blasted  from  heaven  with  God's  bolt  of  anger  in  your  heart ;  will 
you  be  buried  there?  Then  there  is  the  good  man's  grave,  which 
is  not  a  grave  at  all,  it  is  so  full  of  flowers,  and  so  full  of  peace  and 
promise — those  vows  spoken  by  Christ  Himself — will  you  be 
buried  there?  The  road  to  it  is  rough,  but  the  rest  is  deep  and 
sweet,  and  the  waking  immortality  !  Will  you  so  live  that  you 
will  be  much  missed  for  good  doing  ?  So  that  men  shall  say, 
"  Alack,  the  world  is  very  poor  to-day,  for  the  noblest  of  hearts 
beats  no  more?"  Will  you  be  missed  in  the  haunts  of  poverty, 
and  by  the  bedside  of  suffering,  and  in  the  church  of  activity,  and 
in  the  school  of  education  and  discipline  ?  How  shall  we  go  ? 
Buried  without  prayers,  or  buried  in  showering  tears  of  regret,  and 
love,  and  thankfulness  ? 

Here  is  the  persecuting  Saul  testing  the  sincerity  of  the  Church. 
We  know  what  we  are  made  of,  when  the  fire  of  persecution  tries 
us  !  You  do  not  know  your  best  friend  until  you  have  been  in 
trouble.  For  want  of  knowing  this  many  men  are  to-day  living 
on  a  false  reputation.  Your  friends  are  nice,  amiable,  pleasant, 
fond  of  hand-shaking,  and  salutation,  and  courteous  remark. 
Always  cordial,  always  siinny,  always  agreeable.  Have  you  ever 
needed  them  }  Have  you  ever  sent  for  them  to  come  to  you 
through  some  bitter  cold  night-wind  }  If  not,  you  do  not  yet 
know  them.  They  may  be  nobler  than  you  suppose,  they  may  be 
meaner  than  your  friendly  dream.  It  is  when  we  are  in  poverty, 
and  straits,  and  difficulties  that  we  know  our  friends.  The  perse- 
cution which  Saul  inflicted  upon  the  Church  tested  the  Church's 
reality  and  sincerity,  and  it  is  under  such  circumstances,  accord- 
ing to  their  degree,  that  we  ourselves  are  to  know  what  we  are 
made  of. 

Here  is  the  evangelist  Philip  extending  the  influence  of  the 
Church.  "  Then  Philip  went  down  to  the  city  of  Samaria,  and 
preached  Christ  unto  them."  Not  Philip  the  Apostle,  but  Philip 
the  deacon— V\vX\\,  one  of  the  seven.  Stephen  dead,  Philip  taking 
his  place — that  is  the  military  rule  !  The  next  man,  Fonvard / 
"  Who  will  be  baptized  for  the  dead  .'"  When  Stephen  was  killed 
the  remainder  of  the  seven  did  not  take  fright  and  run  away  in 
cowardly  terror,  but  Philip,  the  next  man,  took  up  the  vacant 
place,  and  preached  Christ  in  Samaria.  Who  will  take  up  the 
places  of  the  great  men  and  the  good  men  .-'     Who  will  fill  the 


IN  A    GREAT  SUCCESSION.  187 

vacant  pulpits  ?  Who  will  undergo  the  so-called  drudgery  of  the 
Church  ?  Who  will  consent  to  be  nothing  in  name  that  he  may- 
be everything  in  helpfulness  ?  Is  the  Church  to  be  a  broken  line, 
or  a  solid  and  invincible  square  ? 

These  three  great  figures  are  still  in  the  Church — the  dead 
Stephen,  the  persecuting  Saul,  the  evangelistic  Philip.  Our 
Stephens  are  not  dead.  We  see  them  no  more  in  the  flesh,  but 
they  are  mightier  than  ever  since  they  have  ascended  to  heaven, 
having  left  behind  them  the  inspiration  of  a  noble  example. 
John  Bunyan  is  more  alive  to-day  than  he  was  when  he  wrote  the 
Pilgrim' s  Progress.  John  Wesley  is  more  alive  to-day  than  he 
was  when  he  began  to  preach  the  Word  in  England.  Richard 
Baxter  is  more  alive  to-day  than  when  he  wrote  the  Sairif  s  Ever- 
lasiitig  ResL  Your  child  is  not  dead  when  the  memory  of  the 
dear  little  creature  leads  you  to  do  some  kindness  to  some  other 
child.  Our  fathers,  heroic  and  noble,  are  not  dead,  when  we  are 
able  at  their  graves  to  relight  torches  and  go  on  with  our  sacred 
work.  We  cannot  peruse  a  narrative  of  this  kind  without  feeling 
that  we  are  in  a  great  succession,  and  that  we  ought  to  be  in  pro- 
portion great  successors. 


XXI. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  come  to  our  waiting  hearts  and  give  us  the  light  and 
the  comfort  which  are  alone  in  thy  gift.  We  come  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ.  If  we  forget  it,  may  our  right  hand  forget  its  cunning,  and  our 
tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  our  mouth.  It  is  the  Name  above  every 
name.  It  is  "  the  Name  to  sinners  dear."  Write  it  upon  our  heart  and 
continually  draw  towards  it  all  the  passion  of  our  love.  Save  us  for 
Christ's  sake.  Draw  us  away  from  all  bondage  into  the  infinite  liberty 
of  thy  dear  Son.  With  him  thou  wilt  also  freely  give  us  all  things.  Thou 
delightest  to  give.  Thou  dost  live  to  give.  Every  good  gift  and  every 
perfect  gift  cometh  down  from  heaven.  We  have  nothing  that  we  have 
not  received,  and  upon  everything  that  is  in  our  lives  is  written  thine  own 
name.  Continue  to  give  unto  us  according  to  the  need  of  every  day. 
Refresh  us  with  the  dew  of  the  morning.  Find  honey  for  us  in  the  flowers 
that  open  in  the  noonday  sun.  At  eventide  do  thou  spread  our  table, 
and  make  our  bed  that  we  may  rest.  We  would  give  ourselves  to  thee, 
thou  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  When  we  are  wise  we 
are  foolish.  When  we  are  strong  we  are  weak.  When  we  would  seek 
our  life  we  lose  it.  Lord,  help  us  to  understand  these  things,  and  to 
throw  ourselves  with  completest  faith  upon  the  Infinite  Arm  of  thy  Provi- 
dence, and  the  Infinite  heart  of  thy  love.  Few  and  evil,  but  a  handful  at 
the  most,  are  the  days  of  our  pilgrimage.  May  we  know  to  what  goal  we 
are  moving,  and  with  steadfast  eye  and  continual  progress,  ever  leaning 
upon  the  strong  for  strength,  may  we  move  onward  to  our  destiny  in  thy 
providence.  Thou  dost  rebuke  us  with  many  humiliations.  Out  of  our 
voice  thou  dost  take  the  boastful  tone.  Thou  dost  smite  us  for  our  heal- 
ing ;  and  that  we  may  be  solidly  enriched  thou  dost  first  make  us  very 
poor.  When  we  are  weak  then  truly  we  are  divinely  strong.  Feed  us 
with  the  bread  of  life,  which  is  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God.  We  would 
eat  his  flesh,  we  would  drink  his  blood,  that  we  might  have  life  abiding  in 
us.  Show  us  the  mystery  of  eating  and  drinking  the  flesh  and  blood  of 
thy  dear  Son.  Help  us  to  distrust  ourselves.  Enable  us  to  give  the  lie 
to  our  own  senses,  and  to  order  them  behind  when  they  would  attempt  to 
penetrate  the  mystery  of  God.  Thou  art  constantly  showing  us  that  we 
know  nothing  as  it  really  is  until  our  eyes  are  opened,  and  we  do  not  hear 
the  wondrous,  the  subtle,  and  inefTable  music  until  thou  dost  anoint  and 
inspire  our  ears.  Sometimes  we  are  ashamed  of  our  wisdom.  It  is  not 
what  it  looks.     It  is  -but  a  furbished  lie.     Our  reckoning  is  one  long  line 


SAMARIA   A   TYPE.  189 

of  mistakes,  and  so  busy  are  we  in  putting  the  figures  together,  and  look- 
ing as  if  we  could  handle  them,  that  the  humiliation  thou  dost  inflict  upon 
us  becomes  intolerable.  Lord,  teach  us  how  to  pray.  Lord,  increase 
our  faith.  Lord,  take  us  from  the  alphabet  of  the  senses  into  the  deep 
reading  of  the  spirit.  Lord,  spare  net  thy  light,  thy  light  in  Christ,  but 
let  it  drive  every  shadow  away  for  ever.  Bless  the  hearts  that  mourn 
with  a  little  release  from  their  distress.  Dry  the  tears,  lest  they  blind  the 
eyes  that  are  looking  for  thee.  Put  thine  arms  around  all  the  little  chil- 
dren, that  in  thine  arms  they  may  find  perpetual  security.  Number  our 
hairs  when  they  are  grey  and  white,  that  in  old  age  men  may  know  how 
to  find  in  Christ  the  beginning  of  youth.  As  for  those  who  are  in  pros- 
perity, and  who  have  no  pain  in  head,  or  heart,  or  limb,  on  whose  whole 
road  the  broad  sunshine  lies  day  by  day — men  who  have  pulled  down  the 
altar  and  hidden  thy  Book  away — the  Lord  send  a  serpent  to  bite  them 
and  a  great  affliction,  not  for  their  destruction,  but  for  their  conversion. 
Amen. 

Acts  viii.  9-13. 

9.  But  there  was  a  certain  man  called  Simon,  which  beforetime  in  the 
same  city  used  sorcery,  and  bewitched  the  people  of  Samaria,  giving  cut 
that  himself  was  some  great  one  : 

10.  To  whom  they  all  gave  heed,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  saying. 
This  man  is  the  great  power  of  God. 

11.  And  to  him  they  had  regard,  because  that  of  long  time  he  had  be- 
witched them  with  sorceries. 

12.  But  when  they  believed  Philip  preaching  the  things  concerning  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  were  baptized,  both 
men  and  women. 

13.  Then  Simon  himself  believed  also  :  and  when  he  was  baptized,  he 
continued  with  Philip,  and  wondered,  beholding  the  miracles  and  signs 
which  were  done. 

SIMON  THE   SORCERER. 

LOOK  first  of  all  at  the  condition  in  which  Philip  found  the  city 
or  the  region  of  Samaria.  You  find  there  the  condition  of 
the  whole  world  represented  in  one  pregnant  sentence.  Samaria 
was  (i)  diseased,  (2)  possessed,  and  (3)  deluded.  These  are  the  con- 
ditions in  which  Christianity  has  always  to  fight  its  great  battle. 
Christianity  never  finds  any  town  prepared  to  co-operate  with  it. 
All  the  conquests  of  Christianity  imply  a  long  siege,  stubborn 
hostility,  inveterate  prejudice,  and  the  victory  of  right  over  wrong. 
We   are   none   of   us   by  nature  prepared    to  give   the   Christian 


[go  ACTS  VIII.  9-13. 


teacher  a  candid  hearing.  We  "  hate  the  fellow,  for  he  never 
prophesies  good  of  us. "  If  he  could  prophesy  good  of  us  he 
would  have  nothing  to  tell  our  soul  that  could  do  it  vital  and  last- 
ing good.  The  first  thing  a  Christian  teacher  has  to  do  is  to  tear 
us,  morally,  to  pieces  !  There  is  nothing  in  his  favour.  The  lit- 
erary lecturer  pays  homage  to  his  audience,  but  the  preacher  re- 
bukes it,  humbles  it,  pours  upon  it  holy  despite  and  contempt. 
The  early  preachers  did  not  trim,  and  balance,  and  smooth  things. 
They  spoke  thunderstorms,  and  the  very  lifting  of  their  hand  was 
a  battle  half  won.  It  was  because  they  d\^  fundamental  work  that 
they  made  progress  so  slow,  but  so  sure.  The  world  is  no  better 
to-day  than  Samaria  was  when  Philip  went  down.  And  these 
three  words,  whole  categories  in  themselves,  include  the  moral 
condition  of  the  race.  Diseased, — there  is  not  a  man  in  this 
house  who  is  thoroughly  and  completely  well,  nor  in  any  house, 
nor  in  all  the  world.  If  he  suppose  himself  to  be  so,  he  is  so 
only  for  the  moment  ;  he  was  ill  yesterday,  or  will  be  to-morrow, 
and  presently  the  oldest  oak  will  be  lightning-struck  and  laid  flat 
down  on  the  cold  earth.  The  world  is  a  great  lazar-house.  The 
world  is  dying.  You  stand  up  in  the  mere  mockery  of  strength  ; 
it  is  when  we  lie  down  that  we  assume  the  proper  and  final  atti- 
tude of  the  body.  How  ill  we  are,  what  aches  and  pains  !  What 
sharp  shootings,  what  burnings  in  the  head,  what  throbbings  in 
the  heart  ! 

The  world  is  not  only  diseased,  it  \s  possessed.  Possessed  with 
demons,  possessed  with  unclean  spirits,  possessed  with  false  ideas. 
Why  make  a  marvel  or  a  mystery  about  demoniacal  possession, 
when  we  are  all  so  possessed .?  Why  push  this  idea  back  some 
twenty  centuries  or  more,  as  if  it  were  an  ancient  anecdote  .?  We 
are  all  insane  !  We  are  all  devil-ridden.  We  had  better  give  the 
right  names  to  our  mental  conditions,  lest  we  be  attaching  the 
wrong  label  and  mistaking  ourselves  utterly.  Out  of  Christ,  out 
of  the  Cross,  self-centred,  self- poised,  self-seeking,  we  are  mad ! 
Of  course  we  are  as  usual  the  victims  of  the  vulgarer  interpreta- 
tion of  words.  We  do  not  account  persons  mad  who  are  not  shut 
up  in  confinement.  Until  we  get  a  clearer  conception  of  that 
word  we  shall  be  reading  in  the  dark,  and  the  Bible  will  be  to  us 
but  a  rock  of  stumbling  and  offence.  Diseased,  possessed— these 
are  the  terms  we  must  understand  in  their  spiritual  meaning.     To 


DISEASED,  POSSESSED,  DELUDED.  191 

these  terms  we  must  add  a  third,  for  Samaria  was  not  only  dis- 
eased and  possessed,  Samaria  was  also  deluded.  She  was  bewitch- 
ed. The  sorcerer  had  flung  his  charms  upon  her  mind,  and  she 
was  led  as  the  sorcerer's  will  suggested  or  desired.  Understand 
that  somebody  has  to  lead  the  world.  In  Republicanism  there  is  a 
Sovereignty.  In  a  mob  there  is  a  captaincy  ;  somebody  must  lead 
the  world.  And  the  question  is  who,  Christ  or  Barabbas  ? 
There  is  only  one  question  worth  discussing  so  far  as  the  future  is 
concerned,  and  that  is  who  is  to  rule,  from  whom  is  the  future  to 
receive  its  law  and  inspiration  and  its  best  rewards  .?  To-day  you 
find  men  making  churches  for  the  future.  You  might  as  well 
make  clothes  for  the  future  :  for  ages  unborn  !  There  are  those 
who  are  anxious  to  know  which  will  be  the  Church  of  the  future. 
Personally  I  am  not  interested  in  the  inquiry.  It  may  be  elab- 
orately answered.  The  reply  may  be  as  magnificent  as  a  cipher 
would  be  if  it  were  the  size  of  the  firmanent.  Personally  I  do  not 
care.  My  question  is,  who  is  to  be  the  man  of  the  future,  the 
life,  the  Saver eign,  the  King  of  the  future  .?  This  Man,  Christ,  or 
Barabbas .'  As  Christians  we  have  no  diificulty  about  the  result. 
We  believe  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  marred  more  than  any  man, 
shall  come  up  out  of  his  weakness  and  humiliation,  and  sit  upon 
the  throne  of  glory.     We  do  not  sing  only,  or  say,  we  believe — 

"  Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Doth  his  successive  journeys  run. 
His  kingdom  stretch  from  shore  to  shore 
Till  suns  shall  rise  and  set  no  more." 

If  this  were  a  sentiment  only  we  might  despise  it.  It  is  "x  faith 
which  lifts  up  the  whole  life  along  with  it  to  a  noble  level,  and 
charges  it  with  the  function  of  a  larger  beneficence.  It  is  not  as  if 
we  could  depose  Christ,  and  then  all  be  upon  a  level.  There  re- 
mains the  historic  certainty  that  some  one  man  must  lead.  Who 
shall  that  one  man  be  }  Simon  or  Christ }  Superstition  or  faith  } 
Wrong  or  right } 

As  we  are  all  diseased  and  all  possessed,  so  we  are  all  deluded. 
And  who  can  encounter  a  delusion  .?  None  but  God  the  Holy 
Ghost.  There  are  no  fingers  dainty  enough  to  take  hold  of  a  de- 
lusion and  pull  it  out  of  the  nest  of  the  mind.  This  kind  goeth 
forth  only  by  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost.      A  delusion  be- 


192  ACTS  VIII.  9-13. 


longs  to  the  same  class  as  -a. prejudice,  and  prejudice  has  no  shape, 
no  form,  no  hiding-place,  that  we  can  penetrate.  It  can  only  be 
dislodged  by  that  which  takes  up  all  room,  and  yet  leaves  all  space 
at  liberty — Light.  Wondrous  light  !  Filling  all  things  and  bur- 
dening none  !  Occupying  all  space,  yet  not  encroaching  on  the 
little  sphere  of  the  meanest  insect ! 

It  is  marvellous  what  delusions  the  mind  can  acquire,  and  most 
truly  humbling  is  it  to  hear  the  deluded  man's  tale  about  his  per- 
sonal suffering — what  he  sees,  what  he  hears,  what  he  suspects, 
what  he  thinks  he  knows.  That  man  is  yourself,  is  myself,  in  one 
phase  and  aspect  of  our  possible  experience.  Do  not  stand  back 
from  him  as  if  you  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  humanity.  When 
he  withers,  you  also  wither.  We  are  ' '  members  one  of  another. ' ' 
From  the  weak  we  may  learn  our  weakness  ;  from  the  strong,  the 
imperial,  we  may  learn  how  mighty  we  too  may  become.  Again, 
therefore,  would  I  say,  we  are  ' '  members  one  of  another. ' ' 

Superstition  is  not  to  be  laughed  at.  I  would  rather  laugh  at 
the  merely  arithmetical  man  who  never  had  a  dream  in  his  life. 
Were  I  disposed  to  mock,  I  would  choose  him  as  the  butt  of  my 
bitter  taunt.  Even  you  who  supposedly  have  the  clear  head  and 
practical  mind,  without  a  single  whim  or  fancy  disturbing  the 
equal  balance  of  your  intellectual  monotony,  what  Gospel  there 
can  be  iox you  it  hath  not  entered  into  my  mind  to  conceive. 
Show  me  a  man  who  has  dreams,  fancies,  visions  of  the  night, 
and  who  is  following  invisible  leaders,  and  out  of  him  there  may 
come  a  very  apostle  of  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 
He  has  the  making  of  a  man  in  him.  And  yet  I  would  not  de- 
spise the  other  man,  simply  because  we  do  occasionally  require  to 
eke  out  the  structure  with  stones  that  have  only  a  burden  to  carry 
and  with  pillars  that  are  covered  by  the  painter's  trick.  Christian- 
ity  has  to  encounter  all  \}n^&  false  faiths  of  the  world.  There  is  a 
strong  man  already  in  possession  of  the  citadel,  and  he  will  not 
easily  give  way.  It  is  not  an  easy  thing  for  the  missionary  to  per- 
suade the  most  barbarous  of  his  hearers  to  throw  away  the  piece  of 
wood  or  stone,  which  the  barbarian  hugs  as  his  god.  It  is  a  long 
way  from  the  physical  eye  to  the  spiritual  light !  The  barbarian 
likes  a  god  that  he  can  finger  well.  He  knows  then  that  he  has  a 
g'od.  To  he  told  that  God  is  Unseen  and  Invisible,  "  God  is  a 
Spirit,"  "  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time,"    "  No  man  can 


THE  REQUIRED  MEDIUM.  193 

see  God  and  live,"  is  a  Gospel  that  requires  U7ne  to  make  its  way 
in  the  world — the  world  that  wants  to  make  the  globe  a  factory  and 
human  life  a  toil  !  Christianity  must  continually  startle  its  stu- 
dents by  showing  them  how  very  little  there  is  in  its  Book  that  is 
literal.  You  put  the  water  into  the  firkin  and  it  comes  out  wine  ! 
You  peruse  the  letter,  and  it  turns  into  a  spirit  !  There  is  the 
difficulty  to  men  who  live  an  intellectually  jaunty  life,  who  touch 
things  with  their  fingers,  count  things  up  to  ten,  then  add,  multi- 
ply, and  subtract,  and  divide  at  pleasure,  and  who  suppose  that 
they  have  in  this  way  settled  the  whole  case.  I  can  ask  the  strong- 
est-sighted man  in  the  world  to  look  at  a  piece  of  glass  and  tell  me 
if  there  is  anything  upon  it.  And  his  necessary  answer  must  be, 
if  he  limit  his  judgment  by  his  sight,  that  the  glass  is  absolutely 
vacant.  I  can  hand  to  him  a  magnifier,  and  say,  "  Look  at  the 
glass  now,  for  whatever  is  upon  it  that  magnifier  will  increase  one 
hundred  fold."  He  takes  the  glass,  he  looks  at  the  object,  and 
he  says,  "I  still  adhere  to  my  judgment  and  declare  that  this 
piece  of  glass  is  absolutely  void,  there  is  literally  nothing  upon  it." 
I  like  his  emphasis,  because  presently  it  will  be  turned  into 
contrition.  I  encourage  him  to  be  very  emphatic,  and  when  he 
has  reached  the  very  limit  of  his  emphasis,  and  almost  taken  his 
stand  upon  his  dignity,  I  bring  the  proper  microscopic  power  to 
bear  upon  the  glass  which  he  declared  to  be  vacant  and  void,  then 
imagine  his  look  I  He  sees  that  within  the  thousandth  part  of  an 
inch  there  is  written  the  sublimest  prayer  ever  offered  to  God  ! 
What  was  wanting.^  A  medium.  What  was  absent .?  The  neces- 
sary help  to  the  eye  !  Yet  there  are  those  amongst  us  who  say, 
"  Seeing  is  believing."  Truly  say  I,  but  what  is  seeiftgp  Where 
does  it  begin,  where  does  it  end  }  And  what  do  we  know  now 
about  sight,  or  light,  or  anything  as  it  really  is  .?  This  being  so 
in  the  lower  realms  of  thinking  and  inquiry,  I  am  enabled  to 
move  upward  to  the  higher  regions,  and  to  belive  that  "  God  is  a 
Spirit. 

It  is  very  instructive  to  watch  Philip's  course  in  Samaria, 
because  first  of  all  he  look  no  notice  of  Simon.  There  are  some  per- 
sons who  think  we  ought  to  send  missionaries  to  argue  down  the 
infidels.  Do  not  let  us  belong  to  that  extremely  foolish  class  of 
persons.  There  is  nothing  to  be  argued  down.  Argument  is  the 
weakest  of  all  weapons.      If  occasion  should  naturally  arise  for  the 


194  ACTS  VIII.  9-13. 


answering  of  some  sophistical  argument,  avail  yourselves  of  it,  but 
do  not. imagine  that  Christianity  has  to  go  down  to  Samaria  to 
fight  a  pitched  battle,  face  to  face  with  Simon  Magus.  What  then 
did  Philip  do  ?  Philip  preached  CHRIST.  Simon  had  been 
preaching  himself.  Philip  never  mentioned  himself,  all  the  while 
he  talked  only  about  Christ.  Thus  Philip  did  not  argue  down 
Simon,  he  superseded  him.  The  daylight  does  not  argue  with  the 
artificial  light.  The  sun  does  not  say,  "  Let  us  talk  this  matter 
over,  thou  little,  beautiful,  artificial  jet.  Let  us  be  candid  with 
one  another,  and  polite  to  one  another,  and  let  us  treat  one 
another  as  gentlemen  talking  on  equal  terms.  Let  us  thus  see 
which  of  us  ought  to  rule  the  earth."  The  sun  does  nothing  but 
SHINE  !  What  then  !  Men  then  sneakingly  put  the  gas  out  ! 
"  Let  YOUR  light  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see  your 
good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. ' '  Life 
is  the  unanswerable  logic.  Holiness  is  the  invincible  argument. 
Charily,  love,  beneficence,  chivalry,  self-sacrifice,  these  form  the 
shining  host  that  will  chase  all  competitors  away  ! 


XXII. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  though  we  have  multiplied  words  against  thee,  yet 
hast  thou  made  a  flock  of  us,  and  thou  art  thyself  our  Shepherd.  Jesus 
Christ  thy  Son  is  the  Good  Shepherd  who  gave,  and  ever  gives,  his  life 
for  the  sheep.  We  were  lost  once,  but  we  have  returned  unto  the  Shep- 
herd and  Bishop  of  our  souls.  Once  we  were  in  the  wilderness  and  could 
find  no  pasture,  nor  home,  no  sweet  security,  but  now  we  are  enfolded 
upon  the  high  mountains  of  Israel,  and  daily  dost  thou  feed  us  and  lead 
us  forth.  When  the  sun  is  hot  at  noon,  thou  dost  cause  us  to  lie  down  in 
the  cool  shade.  Thou  leadest  us  beside  the  still  waters,  so  that  we  may 
drink,  without  trouble  or  fear,  of  the  living  stream.  And  into  rich  past- 
ures dost  Ihou  lead  us,  that  we  may  not  know  the  pain  of  hunger.  What 
shall  we  say  unco  thee  ?  There  are  no  fit  words  for  the  utterance  of  our 
heart's  great  love.  Thou  hast  gone  beyond  all  words,  and  left  them  be- 
hind, unable  to  touch  the  majesty  of  thy  tenderness  and  the  glory  of  thy 
power. 

Thou  wilt  still  permit  us  to  speak  what  we  feel.  In  Christ  thou  hast 
made  us  new  creatures.  We  would  praise  thee  and  magnify  thee,  and 
hallow  thy  name,  because  of  this  thy  new  creation.  Through  thy  Son, 
our  Saviour,  we  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  wondrous  Spirit,  the 
Paraclete,  the  Abiding  Comforter,  the  Leader  into  all  truth  !  May  we 
not  fear  as  we  enter  in.  As  the  firmament  of  thy  truth  heightens  above 
our  heads,  may  we  behold  with  astonishment  and  joy  this  display  of  thy 
spiritual  riches  ;  and  as  the  horizon,  which  we  thought  the  limit,  goes 
away  in  ever-widening  circles,  may  we  know  that  thy  truth  is  greater 
than  our  imaginings,  and  thy  creation  infinitely  more  than  our  thought. 
Save  us  from  all  uncharitableness.  Deliver  us  from  the  prison  of  little- 
ness, and  bigotry,  and  supposed  finality.  By  thy  Spirit  show  us  that  the 
riches  of  Christ  are  unsearchable,  without  beginning,  without  ending, 
without  measure,  infinite  riches  of  light  and  wisdom,  of  grace,  and  truth. 
Feed  us  with  thy  word.  We  have  forgotten  most  of  it  ;  have  mercy  upon 
us  !  We  ought  to  have  hoarded  it,  and  guarded  it  with  our  whole 
strength  from  worldly  encroachment  and  corruption,  yet  have  we  forgot- 
ten it  !  We  have  allowed  the  noises  of  the  world  to  interrupt  the  music 
of  heaven.  God  be  merciful  unto  us  in  Christ  the  Atoning  Saviour,  be- 
cause of  this  our  great  transgression. 

Now  come  to  us,  as  we  need  thee  most.  Some  of  us  have  brought 
summer  flowers  to  offer  thee.     Flowers  of  joy,  and  praise,  and  new  de- 


196  ACTS  VIII.  14-25. 


light,  and  recovered  hope.  Lord,  take  them  ever)'  one  in  thy  hand,  and 
they  will  never  wither.  Others  have  come  with  pained  heads,  and  heavy 
hearts,  and  darkened  eyes.  The  light  of  hope  has  been  blown  out.  The 
staff  of  dependence  has  broken  in  the  hand  that  leaned  upon  it.  The 
fair-looking  garden  was  but  a  pit  covered  with  fiowers.  The  Loid  cheer 
such  with  wine  from  heaven,  and  with  bread  which  is  angels'  food. 
Others  know  not  why  they  are  here.  Some  of  them  little  children  brought 
by  other  hands.  Some  who  do  not  know  what  the  house  is,  or  the  day. 
Lord,  cause  a  new  light  to  enter  the  mind  of  such,  and  make  them  glad. 
The  Lord  speak  a  word  in  season  to  him  that  is  weary.  The  Lord  show 
the  strongest  man  that  his  strength  is  but  the  boast  of  a  moment,  and 
show  the  weakest  one  that  his  weakness  may  be  made  the  beginning  of 
eternal  strength.  Dry  our  tears  when  they  flow  like  a  river  ;  and  when 
our  joy  would  lead  us  away  from  the  trust  that  is  the  strength  and  the 
glory  of  life,  the  Lord  dash  it  with  bitterness  that  we  may  be  made  to 
think  and  pray. 

And  now  shall  this  day  be  thine,  thou  King  of  saints,  thou  leader  of 
battles,  thou  man  of  war  ?  The  morning  is  upon  us  now,  and  the  night 
will  soon  be  here,  and  we  would  that  thy  banner  might  float  over  a  con- 
quered field.  Ride  forth  in  thy  strength,  thou  whose  chariots  are  twenty 
thousand,  and  thousands  of  thousands.  Make  thy  ministers  a  flame  of 
fire,  and  thy  house  a  doorway  into  heaven,  and  let  thy  Gospel  be  heard 
in  all  its  ineffable  sweetness  ;  and  may  all  rivals  flee  away  before  the  ad- 
vancing light  of  thy  glory,  and  leave  thee  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of 
lords,  the  only  Potentate  !     Amen. 

Acts  viii.  14-25. 

14.  Now  when  the  apostles  which  were  at  Jerusalem  heard  that  Sama- 
ria had  received  the  word  of  God  [the  whole  sum  and  substance  of  the 
Gospel]  they  sent  unto  them  Peter  and  John  : 

15.  Who,  when  they  were  come  down,  prayed  for  them,  that  they 
might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  [not  regeneration  only,  but  the  Pentecostal 
gift]  : 

16.  (For  as  yet  he  was  fallen  upon  none  of  them  :  only  they  were  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.) 

17.  Then  laid  they  their  hands  on  them,  and  they  received  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

i3.  And  when  Simon  saw  [so  visible  and  conspicuous  was  the  change] 
that  through  laying  on  of  the  apostles'  hands  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given, 
he  offered  them  money  \x()7\uaTa  -riches], 

19.  Saying,  Give  me  also  this  power,  that  on  whomsoever  I  lay  hands, 
he  may  receive  the  Holy  Ghost. 

20.  Rut  Peter  said  unto  him,  thy  money  perish  with  thee  [be  together 
with  thee  for  perdition],  because  thou  hast  thought  [the  Greek  verb  has  a 
transitive  not  a  passive  sense]  that  the  gift  of  God  may  be  purchased  with 
money. 


CHANGE  OF  EXPERIENCE.  197 

21.  Thou  hast  neither  part  nor  lot  [Col.  i.  12]  in  this  matter  :  for  thy 
heart  is  not  right  [2  Peter  ii.  15]  in  the  sight  of  God. 

22.  Repent  therefore  of  this  thy  wickedness,  and  pray  God,  if  perhaps 
[implying  a  latent  doubt]  the  thought  of  thine  heart  may  be  forgiven  thee 
[Peter  himself  neither  condemns  nor  forgives]. 

23.  For  I  perceive  that  thou  art  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  in  the 
bond  of  iniquity. 

24.  Then  answered  Simon,  and  said,  Pray  ye  to  the  Lord  for  me,  that 
none  of  these  things  which  ye  have  spoken  come  upon  me. 

25.  And  they,  when  they  had  testified  and  preached  the  word  of  the 
Lord  [implying  a  stay  of  some  duration],  returned  to  Jerusalem,  and 
preached  the  gospel  [announced  the  glad  tidings]  in  many  villages  of  the 
Samaritans. 

THE  DEPUTATION  TO  SAMARIA. 

"  TT  /"HEN  the  Apostles  which  were  at  Jerusalem  heard  that 
V  V  Samaria  had  received  the  Word  of  God,  they  sent  unto 
them  Peter  and  John."  This  must  have  been  a  most  instructive 
experience  to  the  Apostle  John.  There  was  a  time  when  that 
Apostle  did  not  conceal  his  feelings  respecting  a  village  in 
Samaria.  Jesus  Christ  wished  to  enter  into  a  village  of  the  Samari- 
tans and  to  remain  there  a  little  while.  The  villagers  did  not  un- 
derstand this  desire  ;  they  saw  that  his  face  was  hardened  in  the 
direction  of  Jerusalem,  and  because  he  looked  so  steadfastly 
towards  that  city  they  did  not  receive  him  ;  and  when  James  and 
John  saw  this  they  said,  "  Lord,  wilt  Thou  not  command  fire  to 
come  down  from  heaven  and  consume  them  even  as  Elias  did  V 
John  could  not  brook  the  insult,  he  did  not  know  what  spirit  he 
was  of.  Little  by  little  Jesus  Christ  brings  us  to  understand  his 
purpose,  and  to  enter  into  the  meaning  of  his  life  ;  and  then  the 
John  who  would  have  prayed  for  destructive  fire  is  himself  sent 
down  to  Samaria  to  invoke  the  falling  of  another  flame  that  burns 
but  does  not  consume  !  We  cannot  tell  what  we  may  yet  do  in 
life.  Amongst  our  old  enmities  we  may  yet  find  our  sweetest 
friendships.  Do  not  seek  to  destroy  any  man,  however  much  he 
may  reject  you  or  misunderstand  you.  A  time  may  come  when 
you  can  render  him  the  service  of  prayer.  The  text  is  now  easy 
reading,  but  there  was  a  day  when  it  was  a  grand  story.  "  When 
the  apostles  which  were  at  Jerusalem  heard  that  Samaria  had  re- 
ceived the  Word  of  God  " — that  is  nothing  to  us  ;  we  read  it  as  if 


ACTS  VIII.  14-25. 


it  were  a  commonplace.  In  reality  it  is  the  dawning  of  a  new 
day,  the  winning  of  a  great  battle,  the  opening  of  a  beneficent  rev- 
elation ;  that  day  the  Geniiks  were  admitted  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Christ,  openly  and  by  a  glad  celebration.  We  lose  so  much  by 
forgetting  the  circumstances  of  the  case  which  is  before  us.  This  is 
a  verse  now  read  as  if  it  had  no  atmosphere.  What  is  it  that  we 
lose  in  history .'  It  is  the  atmosphere  that  we  lose.  And  what  is  it 
that  gives  the  novelist  or  the  dramatist  supremacy  over  the  histo- 
rian, or  the  dry,  technical,  and  most  learned  annalist  ?  It  is  that 
he  creates,  or  recalls,  the  atmosphere,  and  thus  his  fictions  become 
the  real  facts.  We  are  now,  let  us  suppose,  standing  upon  a 
great  stretch  of  land,  and  between  us  and  another  stretch  of 
country  quite  as  large  there  rolls  a  broad,  deep  river.  We  cannot 
cross  it  at  this  point.  We  travel  by  its  edge  mile  by  mile  until  we 
come  to  a  great  stone  bridge,  and  it  is  over  that  bridge  that  the 
commerce  between  the  two  countries  is  continually  maintained. 
That  bridge  we  find  in  the  fourteenth  verse  of  this  chapter.  The 
bridge  was  built  at  Samaria,  between  old  Judaism  and  despised 
(lentilism,  by  which  these  noble  Christian  prophets  and  apostles 
went  from  one  side  to  the  other,  and  thus  Jerusalem  became  in 
the  apostles'  eyes  as  the  mother  city  of  the  world,  when  they  heard 
that  the  Gentiles  had  so  received  the  music  of  the  redeeming 
Word.  We  do  not  care  for  this  miracle  now.  The  dreariest  part 
of  every  missionar}'  meeting  to  many  persons  in  the  excited  assem- 
bly is  the  reading  of  the  report — a  reading  which  should  bring  all 
the  Church  together  in  its  noblest  enthusiasm  ;  a  reading  under 
which  strong  men  should  stand  and  never  stir  till  the  last  syllable 
had  throbbed  upon  the  hot  air — then  there  should  arise  a  shout  as 
of  a  conquering  host — "  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings 
flow."  Such  is  not  our  way  now.  Miracles  have  become  com- 
monplaces, and  reports  have  succumbed  to  the  rhetoric  that  never 
suffered. 

When  this  report  was  made  in  Jerusalem,  the  apostles  sent 
down  Peter  and  John.  Was  Peter  then  really  ' '  sent  down  V ' 
So  it  would  certainly  appear  from  the  text.  We  thought  that 
Peter  would  have  sent  down  other  men  !  It  is  evident,  however, 
that  that  thought  is  misconceived.  Peter  himself  was  a  messen- 
ger. Yet  how  delicate  the  tribute  to  his  undoubted  primacy  of 
love  and  enthusiasm  !     He  it  was  who  was  selected  to  go  down. 


TRUE  APOSTOLIC  INFLUENCE.  199 

His  name  appears /rj/,  and  yet  he  was  but  a  deputation!  There  is 
nothing  papal  here.  The  Pope  is  not ' '  sent  down, ' '  he  sends  down. 
Peter  and  John  were  sent  down  into  Samaria  to  make  inquiry  and 
to  do  whatever  might  appear  needful  under  the  novel  circum- 
stances. Our  greatest  men  should  always  be  sent  down  to  the  vil- 
lages under  circumstances  such  as  these  related  in  the  text.  Our 
very  grandest  preachers  ought  to  be  our  missionaries.  A  mission- 
ary is  now,  unhappily,  a  despised  man.  If  I  wanted  to  empty 
this  church  I  have  only  to  announce  that  a  "  returned  missionary" 
would  preach  here.  What  a  desolation  he  would  make  in  the 
earth  !  The  man  who  has  suffered,  who  has  not  counted  his  life 
dear  to  him  that  he  might  preach  Christ,  would  be  left  to  tell  his 
story  to  vacant  air  !  He  might  not  tell  it  in  dainty  language,  in 
choice  music  of  eloquence  ;  he  might  have  no  deftness  of  speech, 
no  cunning  skill  in  the  stringing  of  sentences,  and  in  the  utterance 
of  expressive  accents  ;  he  might  have  no  genius  of  emphasis  ;  but 
he  has  come  to  tell  of  battles  being  won,  and  if  we  were  in  Christ, 
as  very  parts  of  his  soul,  we  would  not  mind  the  manner  of  the 
narrative  ;  we  would  be  as  soldiers  whose  noblest  pride  was 
touched  to  hear  that  the  Master's  banner  floated  over  all  the  earth 
in  sign  of  beneficent  victory  ! 

When  Peter  and  John  were  come  down  to  Samaria  what  did  they 
do  .^  This  will  reveal  the  right  aspect  of  apostolic  injltience  and  office. 
Let  us  read  the  text  in  a  way  of  our  own,  and  then  it  will  stand  in 
some  such  fashion  as  this,  "  Peter  and  John,  when  they  were 
come  down,  sat  upon  a  great  and  high  throne,  and  waved  over  the 
astounded  Gentiles  a  staff  that  was  supposed  to  have  singular 
power  in  it,  and  the  amazed  and  wonder-struck  villagers  of 
Samaria  fell  back  before  such  dazzling  dignity  and  bewailed  their 
own  unworthiness. "  That  would  be  poor  Scripture!  That 
would  be  Scripture  without  inspiration  from  heaven.  How  does 
the  text  really  read  ?  It  reads  in  this  way  :  When  they  were 
come  down,  they  PRAYED  for  the  villagers,  that  they  might 
receive  the  Holy  Ghost.  Pray  for  your  friends  ;  do  not  affright 
them.  Pray  for  inquirers  ;  do  not  overpower  them.  Pray  in 
great  religious  crises,  and  thus  magnify  the  event,  and  do  not 
lessen  it.  Say,  this  is  an  affair  which  must  be  lifted  up  into  the 
light  of  God's  countenance,  and  God  himself  must  order  and  rule 
in  such  an  instance.     Do  we  PRAY  now  ?     The  question  is  not. 


ACTS  VIII.  14-25. 


do  we  use  the  terms  of  prayer,  or  fall  into  the  attitude  of  supplica- 
tion, but  do  we  PRAY  ?  Do  we  ask  as  if  we  meant  to  have  what 
we  ask  ?  The  question  is  too  solemn  to  be  answered  by  any  one 
man  in  the  name  of  others.  For  what  did  the  Apostles  pray } 
That  Samaria  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost.  Then  what  had 
Samaria  already  received  ?  Samaria  had  only  received  the  first 
baptism.  Water  will  do  you  no  good.  It  was  meant  to  be  a  be- 
ginning, not  an  end.  Whether  you  have  received  drops  of  water, 
drops  of  dew,  upon  your  infantile  brow,  or  whether  you  have  been 
plunged  of  men  in  the  deep  river,  it  matters  not,  if  you  have  not 
gone  further.  We  have  believed,  but  have  we  received  the  Holy 
Ghost  P  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  have  not,  in  many  instances  as  we 
well  know.  People  seem  to  imagine  that  when  they  have  belia^ed, 
the  work  is  done.  As  well  tell  me  that  when  you  have  put  the  fuel 
into  the  grate  the  fire  is  lighted.  We  have  believed,  the  fuel  has 
been  received  into  our  mind,  we  know  the  truth,  what  we  want  is 
the  burning  spark  !  Now,  have  we  received  the  Holy  Ghost } 
There  is  no  mistaking  it.  We  have  had  occasion  already  to  say 
that  no  man  can  mistake  fire.  You  may  paint  it,  but  you  cannot 
warm  your  hands  at  the  flame  on  the  canvas.  Fire  is  like  nothing 
but  itself.  It  separates  man  from  man,  yet  unites  man  to  man.  It 
burns  up  selfishness.  It  purifies,  it  glorifies.  It  is  the  secret  of 
the  universe.  They  who  truly  worship  fire  are  not  far  from  the 
Icingdom  of  God.  What  is  that  there  is  not  in  fire .'  It  is  even 
so  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  gives  a  man  individuality.  It  de- 
taches him  from  the  common  crowd  and  gives  him  a  singularity  of 
his  own.  What  if  it  be  true  that  we  do  not  know  what  is  meant 
by  the  words,  the  HOLY  GHOST  }  We  are  reasoners,  debaters, 
metaphysicians,  theologians,  essayists,  learned  men — all  these  we 
may  be  with  the  water  still  upon  our  faces  !  When  the  Church 
has  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Church  will  be  unlike  every  other 
communitv.  When  the  pulpit  has  been  baptized  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  it  will  stand  alone  in  the  supremacy  of  its  power.  At  pres- 
ent it  is  not  a  Sinai,  it  is  a  reading-desk.  It  is  the  retreat  of  the 
mumbler,  it  is  the  living  of  the  essayist.  The  pulpit  should  be  but 
a  pedestal  from  which  a  man  cries  with  the  shout  of  thunder,  and 
with  the  energy  of  the  refreshing  and  purifying  breath  of  heaven. 
Lord  baptize  us  with  the  Holy  Ghost !  Our  religion  is  at  present 
an  argument  ;  our  desire  is  that  it  may  become  a  PASSION  ! 


HOW  LITTLE  MONEY  CAN  DO. 


Simon  the  Sorcerer,  hearing  that  through  laying  on  of  the 
Apostles'  hands  the  Holy  Ghost  was  received,  offered  them 
money.  It  is  easy  to  abuse  this  man  known  as  Simon,  but  he 
acted  a  most  natural  and  rational  part.  Consider  his  training,  his 
surroundings,  his  particular  avocation,  and  the  great  influence  he 
had  acquired,  and  then  say  if  he  did  not  take  the  very  course  open 
to  a  keen  and  penetrating  observer.  He  had  lived  all  his  life  in 
the  market-place.  He  had  always  been  behind  the  counter  ;  he 
had  never  breathed  a  purer  air  ;  he  knew  but  one  world,  and  one 
language.  When,  therefore,  he  saw  by  laying  on  of  the  Apostles' 
hands  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given,  he  offered  the  Apostles  money, 
saying,  "  Give  me  also  this  power,  that  on  whomsoever  I  lay 
hands  he  may  receive  the  Holy  Ghost."  Simon  saw  only  the 
outside — which  of  us  sees  any  further .?  We  ourselves  think 
because  we  have  been  to  church  we  have  been  good,  or  that 
because  we  have  bowed  at  the  name  of  Jesus,  or  sung  a  Christian 
hymn,  or  heard  a  Christian  discourse,  that  therefore  we  are  Chris- 
tians. That  is  precisely  the  reasoning  of  Simon.  There  has 
grown  up  in  some  sections  of  the  Christian  Church  a  custom  which 
is  known  as  Simony.  The  meaning  is  that  this  or  that  particular 
spiritual  function  has  been  turned  into  a  marketable  commodity. 
The  custom  derived  its  name  from  the  name  of  the  Sorcerer,  and 
from,  the  circumstance  recorded  in  this  text.  He  who  would  buy 
a  pulpit  is  guilty  of  what  is  called  simony.  He  who  would  hold 
his  place  in  this  Church  or  any  other  by  virtue  of  having  bought  it 
is  guilty  of  simony.  But  the  simony  of  the  Christian  Church  is 
not  in  the  pulpit  alone.  We  may  buy  or  try  to  buy  influence, 
status,  and  authority  in  the  Church  by  the  use  of  money.  Who 
is  there  that  does  not  imagine  that  everything  can  be  bought .' 
Yet  how  little  in  reality  can  we  buy  with  money  !  Can  you  buy 
sound  judgment  .^  What  is  the  price  of  it }  Can  you  buy  ivisdom  .-* 
Tell  me  the  value  of  it  in  plain  money.  You  can  buy  diamonds 
for  the  finger — can  you  buy  lightning  for  the  eyes  .-*  You  can  buy 
musical  instruments — can  you  make  your  tongue  so  eloquent  as  to 
be  a  tabernacle  of  thunder  .?  What  can  you  buy  ?  Can  you  buy 
poetic  fire  ?  Can  you  buy  perfect  insight  P  Can  you  buy  any 
form  of  spiritual  and  enduring  power  ?  Know  ye  that  money  has 
but  a  little  world  to  operate  in,  and  that  the  highest  gifts  are  not 
to  be  purchased  with  gold.     Seek  wisdom,  seek  knowledge,  seek 


ACTS  VIII.  14-25. 


instruction — the  price  of  it  is  above  rubies.  If  we  could  rightly 
lay  hold  of  this  idea  it  ought  to  open  great  worlds  of  possibility  to 
us.  God  hath  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world  rich  in  faith,  and 
strong  in  power.  "  He  doeth  as  he  will  among  the  armies  of 
heaven  and  amongst  the  children  of  men."  To  the  poorest  man 
he  says,  "  Take  this  Gospel  and  preach  it."  A  manger  will  do 
for  a  cradle  when  there  is  m  it  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  Do  you 
suppose  that  because  you  have  little  money  you  have  little  power, 
little  life,  little  responsibility .?  What  have  you  .?  You  may  have 
the  power  of  prayer !  You  may  be  able  to  put  into  words  at 
God's  throne  thoughts  that  burn  in  me,  but  for  which  I  myself 
have  no  speech.  You  may  be  able  to  ' '  speak  a  word  in  season 
to  him  that  is  wear)'."  You  may  have  the  gift  of  hope  and  the 
faculty  of  music,  and  you  may  be  able  to  lift  the  load  from  many 
a  burdened  heart.  Poorest  man,  do  not  despair  !  You  may  be 
rich  in  ideas,  rich  in  sympathies,  rich  in  suggesiion,  and  rich  in  all 
the  noblest  treasures  that  can  make  men  wealthy  with  indestructi- 
ble possession. 


XXIII. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  the  earth  is  thine  and  the  fulness  thereof.  Thine  is 
also  the  fulness  of  the  sea.  Thou  lookest  upon  all  things,  and  in  them 
thou  dost  behold  a  purpose  all  thine  own.  Thy  day  of  explanation  is 
coming,  and  then  will  be  the  full  shining  of  the  light  upon  all  the  way 
which  we  have  taken  ;  and  in  that  hour  of  thy  shining  glory  we  shall 
truly  know  how  good  thou  hast  been,  and  how  evil  has  been  our  life  in 
the  light  of  thy  holiness.  Thou  hast  redeemed  us  with  an  infinite  price. 
We  see  what  value  thou  dost  place  upon  our  souls  by  the  ransom  which 
thou  hast  paid  for  their  redemption.  We  are  redeemed  not  with  corrupti- 
ble things  as  silver  and  gold,  but  with  precious  blood  of  the  Son  of  God. 
We  are  not  our  own  ;  we  are  bought  with  blood  ;  we  are  purchased  with 
life  ;  thou  thyself  in  thy  son  didst  die  that  we  might  live.  For  these  holy 
thoughts  we  bless  thee.  They  lift  the  soul  above  the  things  of  time,  and 
all  the  weariness  of  earth,  and  bring  us  into  the  calmness  and  peace  of 
thine  own  quietude.  We  rejoice  in  all  spiritual  impulse,  and  aspiration, 
and  sacred  desire.  We  would  not  live  in  the  earth,  but  would  draw  our 
life  from  the  sun.  Enable  us,  therefore,  to  fix  our  whole  affections  upon 
the  Son  of  God,  our  one  Redeemer  and  Saviour,  and  Priest,  and  in  the 
fixing  of  that  love  may  we  find  the  only  steadfastness  and  security  of  our 
life.  Save  us  from  all  the  weary,  and  all  the  exciting  processes  of  self- 
trust  and  self-idolatry,  and  lead  us  into  the  infinite  rest  of  faith  in  thy 
Fatherhood.  We'  would  rest  in  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  We  would  abide  in  him  as  the  branch  abideth  in  the  vine.  We 
have  no  life  in  ourselves.  Our  life  is  hidden  with  God  in  Christ.  Enable 
us,  we  humbly  pray  thee,  to  know  this  in  all  the  breadth  of  its  meaning 
and  in  all  the  completeness  of  its  comfort,  that  we  be  no  more  children 
tossed  to  and  fro  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  without  a  home  for  the 
heart,  and  without'a  refuge  for  the  wounded  spirit.  In  thy  house  we  ex- 
pect to  see  thy  light.  There  is  a  light  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun. 
We  would  walk  in  that  light,  feeling  all  its  warmth,  and  answering  with 
unspotted  piety  the  challenge  of  its  sacred  glory.  Reveal  thyself  to  us  in 
the  sanctuary.  Thou  hast  a  beauty  which  the  world  doth  not  and  cannot 
see  ;  the  beauty  of  love,  of  grace,  of  tenderness.  Thou  canst  walk  with 
men,  and  talk  in  whispers  to  their  listening  hearts.  Thou  canst  cause 
their  trouble  to  arise  like  dew  of  the  morning,  to  be  fashioned  into  the 
bow  of  new  promise  and  hope  in  the  blue  heavens.  Thou  canst  comfort 
thy  children  with  tenderest  solaces.     Have  pity  upon  the  broken  heart, 


204  ACTS  VIII.  14-25. 


spare  the  reed  that  is  already  bruised,  and  send  a  Gospel  this  day  to 
hearts  that  are  longing  for  it.  As  the  mother  would  save  the  child,  as 
the  father  would  bring  back  the  wanderer,  and  sink  the  past  in  eternal 
oblivion,  wilt  thou  not  much  more  call  us  every  one  to  thy  love  and  grace 
in  Christ  Jesus,  and  make  for  our  feet  a  new  earth,  and  for  our  eyes  a 
new  heaven. 

We  remember  the  absent.  Those  who  are  travelling  upon  the  land  or 
sea,  whose  return  we  are  expecting  with  thankfulness  and  joy.  We  can- 
not forget  the  sick  at  home  and  in  the  hospital.  Everywhere  on  the  wide 
earth  is  sickness  to  be  found.  We  thank  thee  for  all  the  care  that  is  be- 
stowed upon  the  sick  and  dying.  We  pray  that  thou  thyself  wilt  be  the 
Physician  of  those  who  are  in  deepest  suffering.  Send  messages  of  com- 
fort to  all  homes  of  sickness,  whether  private  or  public,  and  let  the  heal- 
ing power  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  be  felt  in  every  suffering  heart. 

Thy  word  is  truth,  let  us  hear  it  as  such.  May  we  not  listen  to  it  as 
other  than  the  voice  of  God's  eternity.  Touch  our  ears  that  they  may 
hear  the  faintest  whisper  of  thy  love  ;  open  our  understanding  that  we 
may  understand  the  Scriptures  ;  and  by  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
God  the  Spirit,  prepare  us  to  receive  the  truth  with  all  humbleness  and 
meekness,  and  teachableness  of  mind.  Dismiss  the  world  from  our 
thought  and  time  from  our  anxiety,  and  give  us  thy  tender  peace,  thou 
that  dwellcst  in  the  quietness  of  Eternity.     Amen. 

THE   DEPUTATION   TO    SAMARIA. 

{continued. ) 

LET  us  now  see  what  Simon  the  Sorcerer  did  when  he  saw 
that  through  laying  on  of  the  Apostles'  hands  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  given  to  the  people.  The  expression  now  reads  as  a 
very  common  one,  yet  there  is  hidden  under  it  a  very  far-reaching 
and  most  subtle  and  potent  meaning.  Simon  offered  the  Apostle 
money.  There  was  probably  no  fixed  sum  in  the  mind  of  Simon. 
If  such  a  bestowal  as  that  of  the  Spirit  could  be  effected  upon 
him,  money  should  not  stand  in  the  way.  The  text  does  not  read 
that  Simon  asked  the  price,  or  that  Simon  fixed  the  sum  :  Simon 
was  a  great  man  in  his  own  line,  and  a  man  who  had  been  most 
successful  in  business,  and  therefore  he  offered  money,  and  not  any 
particular  or  defined  sum  of  money.  This  was  the  hour  of  Apos- 
iolic  icmplation.  They  had  no  money.  '^I'o  the  lame  man  at  the 
Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple,  Peter  had  said,  "  Silver  and  gold 
have  I  none."  Money  is  always  a  powerful  temptation  to  the 
empty  pocket.  Where  is  the  man  in  this  congregation  who  can 
say,  No,  to  every  form  of  temptation  which  money  can  assume  .-* 


APOSTOLIC  TEMPTATIONS. 


205 


"  The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil."  It  is  very  easy  for 
us,  when  no  temptation  is  troubling  the  ear,  to  say  what  we  should 
do  under  such  and  such  circumstances  ;  but  when  the  money  is 
actually  in  the  hand  of  the  tempter,  and  when  in  one  moment 
more  it  may  be  in  our  own  possession,  and  when  the  thing  asked 
lor  in  exchange  is  itself  a  good  thing,  where  is  the  man  in  the 
Church  who  can  return  a  denial  with  the  emphasis  of  thunder, 
and,  so  to  say,  with  the  accent  of  lightning  ?  We  are  not  to  sup- 
pose that  Jesus  Christ's  temptation  was  confined  to  Himself.  He 
was  tempted  symbolically  for  us  as  well  as  really  tempted  in  him- 
self. The  way  to  the  Kingdom  always  lies  through  the  gate  of  the 
wilderness.  To  enter  heaven  is  to  win  a  battle.  We  do  not  dream 
ourselves  into  heaven.  We  do  not  fall  asleep  as  in  the  darkness 
of  earth,  and  quietly  and  joyously  open  our  eyes  upon  the  summer 
of  heaven.  The  way  to  the  upper  places  is  a  way  through  temp- 
tation, suffering,  discipline,  and  disappointment — a  long  way,  so 
crooked,  so  weary,  with  hardly  a  well  upon  the  wayside  to  rest 
upon  and  to  drink  at.  That  is  the  upward  and  most  difficult 
way  !  When  the  Baptist  had  his  great  temptation,  in  a  moment 
of  excitement,  when  he  seemed  to  sum  up  in  himself  all  prophecy 
and  noble  speech  of  the  ancient  seers,  the  people  came  to  him  in 
their  most  influential  classes,  and  said,  "Art  THOU  He  that 
should  come  V '  Do  not  read  these  words  as  if  they  contained 
nothing.  They  were  a  temptation  of  the  subtlest  kind,  addressed 
not  consciously,  to  vanity,  to  ambition,  and  to  some  of  the  lower 
forms  of  patriotism.  The  principal  seat  upon  the  chariot  was  then 
suggestively  offered  to  John  the  Baptist ;  he  might  have  mounted, 
and  said,  "  Yes,  come  with  me  ;  I  am  your  deliverer  and  prince  1" 
Every  man  has  h's  own  temptations.  Temptation  is  not  always 
explained  or  always  explicable  in  words.  There  are  battles  in 
secret.  There  is  a  Gethsemane  in  every  noble  life.  Ministers  will 
prove  themselves  to  have  been  anointed  with  the  true  and  pure  oil 
of  the  upper  sanctuary  when  they  do  not  smooth  over  life  as  if  it 
were  a  kind  of  summer  dream,  but  when  they  recognize  trouble, 
temptation,  and  inexplicable  weakness,  and  lead  the  way  by  noble 
sympathy,  by  the  lure  of  a  manly  and  noble  example,  and  by  the 
power  that  is  in  spiritual  contagion.  The  Church  is  always 
tempted  in  this  same  way,  namely,  by  the  offer  of  money.  We 
must  always  reject  the  unholy  patronage.     Do  I  address  a  minister 


2o6  ACTS  VIII.  14-25. 


who  preaches  to  the  moneyed  pew  ?  Your  ministry  will  be  blighted 
with  well-merited  condemnation.  Do  I  minister  to  a  Church  that 
could  accept  secular  patronage  in  order  to  preach  a  settled  and 
determined  theology  ?  Such  a  Church  would  have  sold  its  birth- 
right for  a  contemptible  price.  Does  any  power  say  to  the  relig- 
ion of  the  Nazarene,  "  I  will  patronize,  and  pay  thee,  and  see  thy 
bill  discharged  all  the  way  through  .?"  Every  thorn  in  that  crown 
of  thorns  would  answer  with  angry  resentment  an  offer  so  detest- 
able. Faith  must  spread  its  own  daily  board.  Love  must  pay  its 
own  way.  If  the  Church,  be  it  but  two  or  three  in  number,  has 
not  energy  enough,  love  enough,  to  pay  all  that  requires  to  be 
paid,  it  is  not  a  church,  it  is  a  speculative  club.  Do  I  speak  to 
some  who  represent  very  feeble  communities  1  My  friends,  your 
weakness  is  your  strength.  Do  not  ask  any  man  to  help  you,  un- 
less his  help  be  the  inspiration  of  love — not  a  taxation,  but  the 
outgoing  of  a  noble  spirit  of  obedience  to  the  crucified  and  now 
throned  Christ.  It  is  not  necessary  for  you  to  be  rich  in  order  to 
be  a  Church.  There  are,  perhaps,  only  some  five  or  six  of  you  in 
the  little  village  ;  what  then  ?  As  two  of  the  disciples  walked 
together  and  held  converse  upon  Christian  themes,  *' Jesus  Him- 
self drew  near."  And  in  this  drawing  near  the  Church  was  form- 
ed. Where  He  is,  the  Church  is.  Do  not  therefore  accept  any 
bribe  or  any  challenge,  or  kneel  before  any  temptation  to  be  rich, 
and  great,  and  influential.  Be  you  more  zealous  in  prayer,  more 
intense  in  love  and  in  enthusiasm  ;  in  that  line  let  your  victories 
lie  1  Never  be  bribed  into  silence.  Never  keep  back  the  truth  of 
God,  lest  you  should  forfeit  status  or  income.  Again  and  again 
have  1  said,  and  the  conviction  grows  upon  me  that  the  saying  is 
true — //  is  not  necessary  for  any  man  to  LIVE,  but  it  is  necessary 
for  every  man  to  be  LOYAL  to  Christ' s  truth.  The  lesson  comes 
to  us  from  very  ancient  times.  When  the  king  came  to  meet 
Abram,  and  offered  him  great  hospitality  and  patronage,  Abram 
said,  "  No  ;  lest  thou  say,  I  have  made  Abram  rich."  The  chief 
power  is  spiritual,  not  financial.  But  the  Church  has  wonderfully 
fallen  under  the  delusiveness  of  the  fallacy  which  teaches  that  the 
Church  ought  to  be  socially  respectable.  It  would  make  the  heart 
cry  its  hottest  tears  to  read  the  phrases  that  are  now  popular  :  Such 
and  such  a  man  ministers  to  a  "  most  respectable  congregation." 
Such  and  suoh  a  congregation  "  has  hardly  one  poor  person  in  it" 


WHAT  THE  MINISTRY  SHOULD  BE.  207 

Other  congregations  are  notable  for  the  considerable  number  of 
' '  common  people  '  that  degrade  the  pews.  To  such  a  plight  has  the 
religion  of  Christ  been  brought  by  those  who  have  been  offered 
money  and  have  accepted  the  unholy  bribe  ! 

How  was  it  that  the  Apostles  were  enabled  to  escape  the  subtle 
influence  of  this  potent  temptation  ?  The  answer  is  given  in  the 
narrative.  The  Apostles  had  a  true  conception  of  the  spiritual  election. 
and  function  0/  the  Church.  "  Thy  money,"  said  Peter  to  the 
sorcerer,  '*  perish  with  thee,  because  thou  hast  thought  that  the 
gift  of  God  may  be  purchased  with  money. ' '  The  Church  had 
not  then  become  a  machine.  Ordination  was  not  then  a  thing  to 
be  arranged.  It  was  inspiration.  It  was  the  sudden  seizing  of  the 
mind,  and  its  transformation  into  spiritual  dignity  and  majesty. 
We  do  not  understand  this  now.  Men  are  now  ^''prepared"  for 
the  ministry.  Now  we  "  educate'  men  for  the  pulpit.  By  all 
means  be  educated,  be  instructed  ;  but  educate  the  man,  and  the 
citizen,  and  le:  the  pulpit  alone.  You  do  not  educate  the  poet. 
You  educate  the  man  ;  and  too  much  education  we  cannot  have  ; 
there  is  no  virtue  in  ignorance  ;  ignorance  is  always  weakness  ; 
therefore  would  I  uphold  strenuously  the  education  of  the  citizen, 
the  subject,  the  man,  the  individual,  but  let  the  pulpit  receive  the  gift 
of  God.  We  are  not  to  come  to  this  work  by  arrangement  of 
man.  The  ministry  ought  not  to  be  a  class,  or  clique,  or  sect  of 
its  own  by  any  man's  arrangements.  It  should  be  elect  of  God. 
A  minister  should  wear  his  credentials  openly,  and  they  should  be 
so  written  that  none  could  dispute  their  authenticity.  Educate 
men  for  the  ministry  !  "  Thy  education  perish  witn  thee,  because 
thou  hast  thought  that  the  gift  of  God"  could  be  purchased  by 
schooling.  Get  all  the  education  you  can  ;  be  the  best  informed 
man  of  your  circle,  so  far  as  is  possible  ;  encourage  intellectual 
ambition,  and  satisfy  it  even  to  satiety  ;  but  inspiration  makes  a 
minister !  And  inspiration  makes  the  Church.  In  such  a  sense  as 
we  rarely  realize  is  that  word  true.  "  Not  by  might,  and  not  by 
power,  but  by  my  spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  When  the  Church 
learns  that  lesson,  the  Church  will  have  no  need  to  cry  out  for 
more  ministers,  for  the  Church  will  by  such  a  feeling  utter  a  pre- 
vailing prayer  to  heaven  that  "  labourers  may  be  thrust  into  the 
harvest."  Are  you,  young  man,  considering  whether  you  will 
enter  Christ's  ministry  or  not?     Then  pray  God  you  may  never 


2o8  ACTS  VIII.  14-15. 


enter  it ;  for  it  is  not  a  question  for  cotmdcra/ion.  There  are 
those,  shame  on  their  grey  hairs,  who  are  telling  us  that  if  the 
Church  would  offer  more  money  to  the  young  men  of  our  "  better 
families,"  they  might  possibly  give  themselves  to  the  ministry! 
A  malediction  from  heaven  be  upon  such  thoughts  I  Does  Christ 
want  the  members  of  our  "  better  families"  to  be  kind  enough  to 
accept  position  as  his  ambassadors,  and  expositors,  and  friends  ? 
He  was  always  despised  and  rejected  of  men.  He  will  choose  his 
own  ministers.  He  will  see  to  it  that  the  pulpit  is  never  silent. 
It  may  change  its  form  of  utterance,  and  its  attitude  towards  the 
whole  necessity  of  civilized  life  ;  but  Christ  will  find  His  own  min- 
isters, and  inspire  them  with  his  own  spirit. 

Peter  spoke  in  his  own  characteristic  tone  when  he  said  to 
Simon  the  magician,  "  Thy  money  perish  with  thee,  thou  hast 
neither  part  nor  lot  in  this  matter  ;  for  thy  heart  is  not  right  in  the 
sight  of  God.  Repent  therefore  of  this  thy  wickedness,  and  pray 
God  if  perhaps  the  thought  of  thine  heart  may  be  forgiven  thee." 
Peter's  speech  was  not  a  mere  denunciation.  If  you  merely  de- 
nounce men  you  discourage  them.  Learn  here  haw  lo  preach ! 
You  need  nothing  more  on  this  part  of  your  mission  than  this 
speech  to  Simon  Magus.  Nothing  is  wanted  in  the  emphasis  with 
which  Peter  speaks  ;  his  moral  dignity  is  positively  sublime,  and 
yet,  having  uttered  the  word  of  malediction  he  shows  that  the  true 
object  of  the  denunciation  of  wrong  is  to  save  the  wrong-doer. 
Here  is  the  gospel  in  an  unexpected  place.  After  such  a  thunder- 
storm who  could  have  expected  this  voice  of  lute  and  harp  .?  Re- 
pent !  Forgive  !  It  is  weakness  merely  to  abuse,  or  denounce, 
or  rebuke.  Reproach  acquires  its  dignity  and  its  usefulness  by 
the  tenderness  which  eventually  flows  out  of  it.  Your  reproof  of 
the  age  in  which  you  live  will  derive  nearly  all  its  force  from  the 
opening  up  of  the  way  of  possible  forgiveness  and  restoration  to 
those  whose  wickedness  you  have  denounced.  Give  up  no  man. 
Do  not  spare  his  sin  ;  hold  the  fiercest  light  over  it,  but  point  the 
wrong-doer  himself  to  the  possibility  of  forgiveness  through  repent- 
ance and  supplication.  Hear  this  as  a  gospel,  oh,  wrong-doing 
man  !  About  your  wrong. doing  we  cannot  have  two  opinions. 
Upon  the  wickedness  we  would  rain  fire  and  brimstone  from  God 
out  of  heaven,  but  you  yourselves  REPENT,  "  if  perhaps  the 
thought  of  your  heart  may  be  forgiven." 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  PRAYER.  209 

"  While  the  lamp  holds  out  to  burn, 
The  vilest  sinner  may  return." 

Simon  did  not — nor  could  he  be  expected  to  do — seize  the 
spiritual  idea  which  ruled  the  Apostle's  thinking.  His  reply  is 
most  natural,  though  often  condemned.  ' '  Then  answered 
Simon,  and  said,  Pray  ye  to  the  Lord  for  me,  that  none  of  these 
things  which  ye  have  spoken  come  upon  me."  He  asked  for 
Apostolic  prayer,  so  far  he  was  not  wrong.  He  suggested  the 
Apostolic  prayer  ' '  that  none  of  these  things  which  ye  have  spoken 
come  upon  me."  There  he  failed  to  see  the  right  meaning  of 
prayer.  We  must  not  go  to  God  in  supplication  merely  to  escape 
judgment,  or  wrath,  or  penalty,  but  to  escape  sin.  Yet  let  a  man 
come  through  any  ga/e  that  first  opens,  only  let  him  COME  !  We 
cannot  all  be  metaphysicians  in  this  respect  ;  we  cannot  all  be 
theologically  correct  as  to  our  way  of  approaching  our  Infinite 
Father.  If  one  man  should  come  through  hatred  of  sin,  through 
such  a  high  spiritual  nature  that  he  feels  the  evil  of  sin  and  wishes 
to  escape  it  ;  if  another  man  of  lower  mould  should  say,  "  I  fear 
hell,  I  fear  fire,  I  fear  the  worm  that  dieth  not ;  God  have  mercy 
upon  me."  Let  him  also  come.  Every  man  must  pray  as  he 
can.  You  cannot  send  the  heart  to  school  to  teach  it  how  to  pray. 
It  will  pray  from  the  point  where  the  burden  presses.  How  in- 
stinctively the  child  lays  its  hand  upon  the  place  where  the  pain  is  ! 
So  my  prayer  to  heaven  will  come  out  of  that  wound  that  bleeds 
most  copiously.  Where  the  pain  is,  the  prayer  should  be.  If 
the  pain  is  spiritual  because  of  the  sinfulness  of  sin,  I  will  pray 
some  lofty  prayer  ;  and  if  I  be  troubled  with  the  fear  of  eternal 
night,  God  will  not  despise  even  the  penitential  cvf  of  fear  and 
dread. 


XXIV. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  how  great  is  thy  truth  !  We  cannot  understand  it  all, 
but  in  Jesus  Christ,  Thy  Son,  we  see  what  we  can  lay  hold  of  with  our 
mind  and  with  our  heart.  Thou  art  revealed  in  thy  Son,  who  is  the 
brightness  of  thy  glory.  We  would,  therefore,  sit  at  his  feet  every  day, 
and  listen  with  the  attention  of  our  love  to  all  the  music  of  his  sacred 
voice.  Give  us  the  hearing  ear,  and  the  understanding  heart,  and  may 
nothing  of  all  the  Gospel  escape  our  reverent  attention.  We  need  it  all. 
We  need  thy  Son  in  his  body,  soul,  and  spirit.  Yea,  verily,  we  need,  be- 
cause of  our  sinfulness,  the  blood  of  his  very  heart.  We  would  behold 
the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  ;  with  our  love 
would  we  behold  him  ;  with  our  inmost  desire  would  we  lay  hold  of  him  ; 
with  all  the  pain  of  our  sin  would  we  cry  unto  him,  that  he  may  be  our 
Deliverer,  our  one  Redeemer.  We  rejoice  in  the  Cross  of  Christ.  It 
means  to  us  the  whole  affection  of  God.  We  see  in  that  Cross  ail  thy 
love,  thou  Ever-loving  One.  Nowhere  else  do  we  see  that  love  in  all  its 
infinite  tenderness.  At  the  Cross  we  tarry  ;  by  the  Cross  will  we  be 
found  when  the  sun  ariseth  ;  and  at  the  setting  of  the  sun  we  will  still  be 
there.  In  the  Cross  is  pardon  ;  in  the  Cross  is  peace.  God  forbid  that 
we  should  glory,  save  in  the  Cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

We  put  ourselves  into  thy  keeping  ;  we  know  not  what  is  best  for  us, 
nor  do  we  know  which  way  to  take  when  the  ways  are  many  and  mostly 
distasteful.  Save  us  from  judging  by  appearances.  Teach  us  our  igno- 
rance. May  we  begin  at  the  point  of  self-distrust,  and  gradually  move 
onward  by  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  perfect  faith  in  the  Son  of 
God.  We  would  live  the  faith-life  :  we  would  live,  and  move,  and  have 
our  being  in  the  Spirit.  We  would  be  no  longer  content  with  the  earth, 
but  would  despise  it,  with  an  infinite  scorn,  as  a  final  resting  point.  We 
accept  it  as  a  beginning— a  school,  an  opening  into  the  eternal  future. 
Help  us  to  use  it  as  such  ;  enable  us  to  use  the  world  as  not  abusing  it, 
and  to  sit  so  lightly  to  all  its  attractions,  that  at  thy  bidding  we  may  rise 
with  a  good  heart,  and  a  glad  hope,  to  go  whithersoever  thou  dost  lead. 
Our  life  is  thine.  It  is  not  ours.  Our  head  and  our  heart  are  enlight- 
ened and  warmed  by  thy  glory  and  by  thy  love. 

Take  care  of  us  every  one,  we  are  so  foolish,  and  so  easily  led  away 
from  the  light  and  the  beauty  of  thy  holiness.  Never  forsake  us  ;  take 
hold  of  both  our  hands,  and  surround  us  with  fire  that  cannot  be  broken 
through.     Thoulcnowest  all  the  circle  of  our  life.     The  old  pilgrims,  who 


THE   TEXT. 


have  but  a  mile  or  two  at  the  most  still  to  go  until  they  reach  the  end — 
their  lives  are  behind  them,  they  cannot  do  any  mighty  works  because  of 
the  feebleness  of  age,  and  the  brevity  of  time.  The  Lord  comfort  such  ; 
the  Lord  himself  send  tender  Gospels  to  hearts  long-tired  and  greatly 
enriched  with  Christian  experience.  Remember,  too,  the  little  ones,  for 
they  are  all  thine.  Baptize  them  with  the  dew  of  the  morning,  and  bap- 
i  tize  them  with  the  fire  of  noon-tide  ;  when  they  come  towards  the  evening 
of  life  may  their  recollection  be  turned  into  a  prophecy  of  still  brighter 
revelation.  Be  kind  unto  the  sick,  the  weary,  the  long-ailing,  whose 
days  are  nights,  and  whose  nights  are  a  burden  of  darkness.  The  Lord 
himself  give  patience  to  those  who  watch,  and  hope  to  those  who  suffer. 

We  commend  the  whole  world  to  thee.  It  is  but  a  little  one,  a  mere 
speck  in  thy  firmament,  but  what  tragedies  has  it  not  seen  !  Thou  dost 
in  little  spaces  reveal  thine  own  infinitude.  This  is  the  miracle  of  God  ; 
this  is  the  wonder  of  life  ;  this  is  the  revelation  of  light.  Save  the  world 
in  every  land  and  every  place,  and  by  the  mighty  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  work  upon  the  nations  until  they  shall  all  bow  down  before  the  up- 
lifted Cross,  and  cry  unto  thy  Son  for  the  baptism  of  all-cleansing  blood. 
Amen. 

Acts  viii.  26-40. 

26.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  spake  unto  Philip,  saying,  Arise,  and  go 
toward  the  south  unto  the  way  that  goeth  down  from  Jerusalem  unto 
Gaza  [one  of  the  five  chief  cities  of  the  Philistines],  which  is  desert. 

27.  And  he  arose  and  went :  and,  behold,  a  man  of  Ethiopia  [now 
called  Nubia  and  Abyssinia],  an  eunuch  of  great  authority  under  Candace 
[the  usual  name  of  Ethiopian  queens]  queen  of  the  Ethiopians,  who  had 
the  charge  of  all  her  treasure,  and  had  come  to  Jerusalem  for  to  worship 
[as  proselytes  did  as  well  as  Jews]. 

28.  Was  returning,  and  sitting  in  his  chariot  read  Esaias  the  prophet. 
[Probably  a  copy  of  the  Greek  translation.] 

2g.  Then  the  Spirit  said  unto  Philip,  Go  near,  and  join  thyself  to  his 
chariot  [doubtless  followed  by  a  numerous  retinue]. 

30.  And  Philip  ran  thither  to  him,  and  heard  him  read  the  prophet 
Esaias,  and  said,  Understandest  thou  what  thou  readest  ? 

31.  And  he  said.  How  can  L  except  some  man  should  guide  me  ?  And 
he  desired  Philip  that  he  would  come  up  and  sit  with  him. 

32.  The  place  of  the  Scripture  which  he  read  was  this,  he  was  led  as  a 
sheep  to  the  slaughter  ;  and  like  a  lamb  dumb  before  his  shearers,  so 
opened  he  not  his  mouth. 

33.  In  his  humiliation  his  judgment  was  taken  away  :  and  who  shall 
declare  his  generation  ?  for  his  life  is  taken  from  the  earth. 

34.  And  the  eunuch  answered  Philip,  and  said,  I  pray  thee,  of  whom 
speaketh  the  prophet  this  ?  of  himself,  or  of  some  other  man  ? 

35.  Then  Philip  opened  his  mouth,  and  began  at  the  same  Scripture, 
and  preached  unto  him  Jesus. 


212  ACTS   VI II.  26-40. 


36.  And  as  they  went  on  their  way,  they  came  unto  a  certain  water  : 
and  the  eunuch  said,  See,  here  is  water  ;  what  doth  hinder  me  to  be  bap- 
tized? 

37.  And  Philip  said.  If  thou  believest  with  all  thine  heart,  thou  mayest. 
And  he  answered  and  said,  I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God. 
[The  whole  of  this  verse  is  omitted  in  the  oldest  MSS  ] 

38.  And  he  commanded  the  chariot  to  stand  still  :  and  they  went  down 
both  into  the  water,  both  Philip  and  the  eunuch  ;  and  he  baptized  him. 

39.  And  when  they  were  come  up  out  of  the  water,  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  caught  away  Philip  [i  Kings  xviii.  12],  that  the  eunuch  saw  him  no 
more  :  and  he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing. 

40.  But  Philip  was  found  at  Azotus  [Asdod,  another  of  the  five  cities]  : 
and  passing  through  he  preached  in  all  the  cities  till  he  came  to  Caesarea 
[the  chief  city  in  Palestine  under  the  Roman  rule]. 

THE   ETHIOPIAN   CONVERT.— A    TYPICAL 
MAN. 

HOW  did  Philip  know  what  the  Ethiopian  traveller  was  read- 
ing ?  If  we  saw  a  chariot  passing  along  our  street,  and  a 
man  engaged  in  reading  a  book,  we  could  not  by  any  possibility 
know  what  he  was  reading  or  what  was  his  condition  of  mind. 
How  then  did  Philip  know  1  Here  we  are  reminded  that  it  was 
the  habit  of  the  Jews,  and  of  other  Eastern  people,  not  only  to 
read,  but  to  read  aloud,  and  accompany  their  reading  oftentimes 
by  vehement  gesticulation.  There  is  no  difficulty  therefore  about 
this  matter  of  Philip  knowing  what  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  was  read- 
ing. The  great  Jewish  teachers  insisted  in  many  instances  upon 
their  scholars  reading  aloud :  they  would  say,  in  effect,  "  If  you 
wish  this  word  to  abide  in  you,  you  must  speak  it  aloud."  And  in 
the  Proverbs  we  have  a  sentiment  to  the  effect  that  the  words  of 
truth  give  life  to  them  that  utler  them  forth.  We  know  something 
about  this  experience  in  our  own  life.  Some  men  could  never 
commit  anything  to  memory  if  they  could  not  speak  the  lesson 
aloud.  It  is  more  easy  for  some  minds  to  learn  by  the  ear  than 
by  the  eye  ;  their  minds  require  both  the  eye  and  the  ear  to  co- 
operate in  the  act  of  memory.  I  speak  to  the  experience  prob- 
ably of  many  when  I  say  that  utterance  aloud  is  often  a  very 
jicnverful  aid  to  mental  retentiveness. 

Let  us  look  upon  this  Ethiopian  as  a  typical  man.  This  is  not 
an  instance  so  many  hundreds  of  years  old  :  it  falls  easily  within 
our  accustomed  .method  of  viewing  Biblical  history.      The  Ethio- 


HONEST  INQUIRY. 


plan  still  lives  amongst  us.  We  have  not  overpassed  him  on  the 
earth.  He  is  yet  in  his  chariot,  he  is  yet  reading  ancient  Script- 
ure, and  he  is  yet  waiting  for  the  one  man  that  can  lead  him  on- 
ward from  morning  twilight  to  noontide  glory.  Let  us  look  at 
this  man  as  an  enquii-er.  He  was  in  a  btwildered  state  of  mind.  I 
do  not  visit  with  rebuke  the  bewilderment  of  honest  enquiry.  In 
the  realm  of  spiritual  revelation  things  are  not  superficial,  easy  of  ar- 
rangement, and  trifling  in  issue.  Who  can  wonder  that  a  man  in 
reading  the  Old  Testament  should  feel  like  a  traveller  making  his 
uneasy  way  through  a  land  of  cloud  and  shadow  .?  Do  not  be  dis- 
tressed because  you  are  puzzled  and  bewildered  by  religious  mys- 
tery. The  most  advanced  minds  in  the  Church  have  had  to  pass 
through  precisely  your  experience.  But  the  path  of  the  just  shin- 
eth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.  Do  not  make  idols  of 
your  perplexities.  Do  not  make  a  boast  of  your  bewilderment. 
You  know  that  there  is  a  subtle  temptation  in  that  direction — to 
talk  about  your  doubts  and  difficulties  in  a  tone  which  suggests  that 
yours  is  so  critical  and  so  judicial  a  mind  that  it  is  not  to  be  put 
off  with  the  easy  solutions  that  have  satisfied  intellects  of  an  infe- 
rior order.  Be  honest  in  your  bewilderment,  and  be  simple  and 
true-hearted.  The  eunuch  was  not  only  bewildered  :  he  was  ieach- 
able.  He  said,  "  I  wonder  what  this  means  ;  would  that  some 
man  could  join  me  in  this  study  and  throw  light  upon  this  mys- 
tery ;  I  feel  lonely  ;  the  voice  of  a  teacher  would  now  gladden  me  ; 
I  would  that  God  would  send  some  director  to  show  me  the  mean- 
ing of  this  and  lead  me  into  the  light."  Teachableness  is  one  of 
the  first  characteristics  of  honesty.  There  is  no  religious  honesty 
that  is  not  adorned  by  the  spirit  of  docility.  If  you  are  self-trust- 
ful, if  you  walk  by  your  own  lights,  if  you  contend,  even  silently 
and  passively,  that  it  lies  within  the  compass  of  your  power  to 
find  out  everything  for  yourself,  then  you  are  not  a  scholar  in  the 
school  of  Christ ;  you  are  stubborn,  you  are  dogmatical,  and,  as 
such,  you  deprive  yourself  of  all  the  gifts  of  Providence.  Yet 
how  few  people  are  teachable  !  So  many  of  us  go  to  the  Bible  and 
find  proofs  of  what  we  already  believe.  Is  this  not  solemnly  true  .-* 
Whatever  your  form  of  Church  government  is,  j'ou  go  to  the 
Bible  and  find  a  text  to  vindicate  it.  Whatever  your  particular 
theology  is,  you  open  the  Scripture  with  the  express  purpose  of 
finding  in  it  a /ri?^ that  you  arc  right.     This  is  not  the  spirit  of 


ACTS   VIII.  26-40. 


Christ.  The  true  beUever  goes  with  an  unprejudiced  mind,  truly 
humble,  honestly  desirous  of  knowing  what  is  true.  No  matter 
who  lives  or  dies,  who  goes  up  or  goes  down,  what  is  truth  must 
be,  and  ever  is,  the  supreme  enquiry  of  honest  and  teachable 
spirits.  The  danger  is  that  we  become  mere  traditionalists.  This 
was  the  great  blemish  in  Jewish  education.  Men  believed  what 
was  handed  on  to  them  from  one  generation  to  another,  without 
personal  enquiry  into  the  foundations  and  roots  of  the  doctrines 
they  were  required  to  accept.  Do  not  call  such  acceptance  by  the 
noble  name  of  faith.  You  who  accept  doctrines  in  that  fashion 
are  not  students,  or  scholars,  or  enquirers  :  you  are  merely  pass- 
ive and  indifferent  custodians,  uttering  words  which  have  in  them 
no  rays  of  life,  and  no  pith  of  pathos  and  reality.  Would  that  we 
could  all  come  to  the  Bible  afresh,  divesting  the  mind  of  every- 
thing we  ever  heard,  and  reading  the  Scriptures  through  from  end 
to  end,  turning  over  every  page  with  the  breath  of  this  prayer — 
"  Spirit  Divine,  show  me  w'hat  is  truth."  We  might  lose  a  good 
deal  of  our  present  possession,  but  we  should  be  enlarged  with 
other  and  better  treasures.  Every  man  would  then  have  the  Bible 
dwelling  richly  in  him,  not  as  a  series  of  separate  and  isolated 
texts,  but  as  a  spirit,  a  genius,  a  revelation,  a  guardian  angel. 

Being  bewildered  and  yet  teachable,  there  can  be  no  surprise 
that  as  an  enquirer  the  ennuch  was,  in  the  third  place,  obedient. 
The  Gospel  does  not  ask  us  to  set  up  our  little  notions  against  its 
revelation.  A  revelation  cannot  afford  to  be  argumentative  upon 
common  terms.  Any  Gospel  that  comes  to  me  with  a  quiver  in 
its  voice,  with  a  hesitancy  or  a  reserve  in  its  lone,  vitiates  its  own 
credentials,  and  steps  down  from  the  pedestal  of  commanding 
authority.  The  eunuch,  having  heard  the  sermon  preached  to 
him  by  Philip,  obeyed.  "  Here  is  water,  what  hindereth  me  to  be 
baptized.?"  He  would  have  the  whole  thing  completed  at  once. 
So  many  persons  are  afraid  that  they  are  not  fit,  or  they  are  not 
prepared.  They  have  heard  the  Gospel  a  quarter  of  a  century  or 
more,  but  still  they  are  wondering  about  themselves.  Such 
people  are  not  humble,  they  are  dishonest ;  they  are  trifling  with 
themselves  and  with  others  ;  they  have  not  reached  the  point  of 
teachableness,  but  are  still  lingering  with  selfish  delight  in  the  land 
of  bewilderment.  What  hindereth  him  }  No  man  should  hmder 
vou  from  coming  to  Christ.      I  fear  sometimes  that  the  luiulion 


PREPARED  HEARERS.  215 

of  the  modern  Church  is  to  get  up  hmdrances,  to  make  fences,  and 
boundaries,  and  lines,  over  which  men  have  to  step,  and  hills  over 
which  they  have  to  climb.  These  are  men-made  hindrances.  In 
the  Gospel  I  find  but  one  word  for  all  honest,  teachable  men,  and 
that  one  word  is — Welcome/  Hindrances  are  man's  inventions. 
As  to  the  /orm  of  baptism,  please  yourself.  It  is  not  a  matter  of 
/orm  ;  it  is  a  matter  of  meaning  and  spirit.  Some  believe  in  aduli 
baptism,  others  believe  in  what  is  termed  believers'  baptism  ;  and  I 
believe  in  LIFE-baptism.  So  that  wherever  I  find  human  life 
in  this  blood-redeemed  world,  I  would  baptize  it  in  the  Triune 
Name,  Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind.  Bap- 
tism  is  greater  than  2Ci\j  form  of  baptism. 

For  a  moment  or  two,  regard  this  treasurer  of  the  Ethiopians 
not  only  as  an  enquirer,  but  as  a  hearer,  and  then  note  his  per- 
sonal characteristics.  First  of  all,  as  a  hearer,  he  ^2^'^  prepared ;  he 
was  already  seriously  perusing  the  mysterious  volume.  He  had 
not  to  be  called  from  afar.  Already  he  was  in  the  sanctuary. 
Where  are  prepared  hearers  nowadays  .''  Where  are  those  who 
come  to  Church  from  the  Bible  itself ;  full  of  the  prophets,  their 
steps  to  the  sanctuary  beating  time  to  the  noble  music  of  the 
Psalms }  What  is  the  work  of  Philip  nowadays  1  It  is  to  per- 
suade, to  plead,  to  break  through  iron-bound  attention  and  fix  it 
upon  spiritual  realities.  Philip  has  now  to  deal  with  men  who  are 
reading  the  journals  of  the  day,  the  fiction  of  the  hour,  and  the 
exciting  discussions  of  the  passing  time,  and  from  any  one  of  these 
engagements  to  the  Scriptures  of  God  there  may  lie  unnumbered 
thousands  of  miles  !  So  we  get  so  little  in  the  Church.  We  do 
not  lift  up  our  heads  from  the  prophetic  page  and  turn  a  glowing 
face  and  an  eager  eye  upon  the  Philip  whom  God  has  sent  to  teach 
us.  Our  ear  is  full  of  the  hum  of  the  world.  Our  mind  is  dazed 
by  many  cross  lights  ;  our  attention  is  teazed  by  a  thousand  appel- 
lants. Could  we  have /r^/iar^^ /zmr^rj,  as  viqW  ^■s  prepared  preach- 
ers, then  in  five  minutes  a  man  might  preach  five  hours,  because 
every  word  would  be  a  revelation,  and  every  tone  a  call  to  higher 
life.  A  prepared  pulpit  fights  against  infinite  odds  when  it  has  to 
deal  with  an  unprepared  pav. 

Not  only  was  the  Ethiopian  a  prepared  hearer,  he  was  a  respon- 
sive one.  He  answered  Philip.  His  eye  listened,  his  attitude  lis- 
tened,   his  breath   listened.      His   head,    his  heart,    his  will,    all 


2i6  ACTS  VII I.  26-40, 


listened.  Who  can  now  listen  ?  To  hear  is  a  divine  accomplish- 
ment. Who  hears  well .?  To  have  a  responsive  hearer  is  to  make 
a  good  preacher.  The  pew  makes  the  pulpit.  It  is  possible  to 
waste  supreme  thought  and  utterance  upon  an  indifferent  hearer. 
But  let  the  hearer  answer,  and  how  high  the  dialogue,  how  noble 
the  exchange  of  thought,  how  possibly  grand  the  issues  of  such 
high  converse  !  Do  not  suppose  that  a  man  is  not  answering  his 
teacher  simply  because  he  is  not  audibly  speaking  to  him.  There 
is  a  responsive  attitude,  there  is  an  answering  silence,  there  is  an 
applauding  quietude,  there  is  a  look,  which  is  better  than  thunders 
of  applause  !  Let  us  study  the  eunuch's  conduct  in  this  matter, 
and  endeavour  to  reproduce  it.  He  wzs  prepared,  he  was  respon- 
sive;  what  wonder  if  in  the  long  run  he  became  a  new  creature.'* 
He  helped  Philip  ;  he  preached  by  listening. 

We  might  pass  on  now  from  looking  at  the  eunuch  as  an  en- 
quirer, and  as  a  hearer,  to  regard  him  for  a  moment  as  a  convert. 
As  a  convert  he  was  an  enlightened  one.  He  had  passed  from  the 
prophetic  to  the  evangelic,  he  had  seen  the  Cross,  he  knew  on 
whom  he  had  believed,  and  he  pronounced  his  name  with  sublim- 
est  emphasis,  "  I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God." 
Then  Philip  must  have  been  preaching  this  doctrine.  You  know 
the  sermon  by  the  hearer.  Say  ye,  "  It  was  a  beautiful  sermon, 
an  exquisite  piece  of  reasoning,  a  model  of  persuasiveness?" 
When  you  blaspheme  after  hearing  it,  and  serve  the  devil  with 
double  industry  after  having  passed  an  hour  in  God's  house, — that 
is  wrong,  that  is  lying  !  Show  the  solidity,  the  Scripturalness,  the 
power,  the  practical  tendencies  of  the  discourse  by  living  it ! 
Being  an  enlightened  convert,  ihe  eunuch  was  a  convert  deeply 
convinced  in  his  ow.i  mind.  There  are  hereditary  Christians, 
nominal  Christians,  halting  Christians,  merely  assenting,  and  non- 
enquiring  Christians.  "And  they  because  they  have  not  much 
deepness  of  earth  soon  wither  away."  There  are  also  convinced 
Christians,  men  who  have  fought  battles  in  darkness  and  have 
dragged  the  prey  to  the  mountains  of  light.  They  are  those  who 
have  undergone  all  the  pain,  the  happy  pain,  the  joyous  agony,  of 
seeking  for  truth  in  difficult  places,  and,  proving  it,  have  em- 
braced it  at  the  altar  as  if  they  had  wedded  the  bride  of  their  souls. 
These  will  make  martyrs  if  need  be.  These  are  the  pillars  of  the 
Church  ;  men  n6t  tossed  to  and  fro,  but  abiding  in  a  noble  stead- 


EXULTANT  FAITH.  217 

fastness.  In  the  use  of  this  incident  there  is  another  point  con- 
nected with  the  eunuch's  experience  as  a  convert  which  we  must 
not  overlook, — he  was  enlightened,  he  was  convinced,  and  in  the 
third  place  he  was  exultant.  "  He  went  on  his  way  rejoicing." 
You  have  not  seen  Christ  if  you  are  not  filled  with  joy.  You 
have  seen  him  in  a  cloud  ;  you  have  seen  a  painted  mask  that 
professes  to  represent  him  ;  you  have  seen  some  ghastly  travesty 
of  the  beauty  of  Christ.  Had  you  seen  God's  Son,  the  Saviour  of 
the  world,  every  dreary  note  would  have  been  taken  out  of  your 
voice  ;  you  would  have  forgotten  the  threnody  of  your  old  winter, 
and  have  begun  to  sing  with  the  birds  of  summer.  See  the 
eunuch,  oblivious  even  of  Philip's  presence.  He  does  not  know 
probably  that  Philip  was  gone.  He  was  lifted  up  in  sublime  ec- 
stasy and  divine  enthusiasm.  He  saw  divine  things,  new  heavens, 
a  new  earth,  bluer  skies,  greener  lands,  than  he  had  ever  seen 
before,  and  in  that  transfiguration  he  saw  Jesus  only.  Philip, 
miraculously  sent,  was  miraculously  withdrawn,  but  there  sat  in 
the  chariot  now  "  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man."  It  is  thus 
that  intermediate  preachers  prepare  the  way  for  the  incoming  of 
their  Master.  And  so  preacher  after  preacher  says,  as  he  sees  the 
radiant  vision  coming — "  He  must  increase,  but  I  must  de- 
crease. ' ' 


XXV. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  let  our  hunger  be  a  cry  unto  heaven.  We  would  hun- 
ger and  thirst  after  righteousness,  for  in  so  doing  we  shall  be  blest  with 
thine  own  fulness.  Thou  dost  give  unto  all  men  liberally,  and  in  thy 
voice  there  is  no  upbraiding  tone.  Giant  unto  us  now,  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Saviour  and  our  Intercessor,  grace  upon  grace.  We 
would  have  fulness  of  blessing,  yea,  we  would  be  filled  with  all  the  ful- 
ness of  God.  Our  heart's  desire  is  that  we  may  be  lifted  up  from  the 
dust  into  the  clear  light  which  shines  in  the  upper  places  of  thy  kingdom. 
We  are  tired  of  the  earth.  We  feel  that  we  are  greater  than  our  prison. 
We  would  break  the  bars  and  fiee  away  to  the  place  where  the  morning 
rises,  and  where  the  mid-day  shines  in  full  glory.  This  impatience  comes 
of  the  ministry  of  thy  grace.  Once  we  were  contented  with  the  dust  ; 
once  we  needed  but  one  little  world  ;  once  we  had  no  eyes  but  those  of 
the  body,  and  then  we  were  satisfied  with  mean  things.  But  we  are  new 
creatures  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  yea,  we  have  been  with  Jesus,  and  have 
learned  of  him.  We  remember  what  he  said  about  our  Father's  house, 
and  the  angels,  and  the  sunlight  hereafter,  in  which  we  are  to  conduct 
our  study  and  our  services.  We  have  entered  into  a  glorious  liberty.  It 
is  not  merely  liberty  enough,  it  is  freedom  upon  freedom,  world  upon 
world,  yea,  an  infinite  inheritance  of  liberty.  Whilst  we  are  here,  may 
we  do  thy  will  with  all  simplicity,  obedience,  and  joyfulness  of  heart. 
May  we  take  nothing  away  from  thy  law,  nor  impair  in  any  degree  thy 
righteousness.  May  we  rather  seek  to  do  our  utmost  to  make  our  calling 
and  election  sure.  Enable  us  to  bear  the  petty  troubles  of  the  day,  and 
to  take  them  as  having  some  good  meaning,  if  we  could  but  find  it. 
May  we  know  our  own  divinity  as  sons  of  God  through  the  Cross  of 
Christ,  and  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  fretted  and  chafed  into  spiritual 
meanness  by  the  trifles  of  a  moment.  In  thy  Son,  our  Saviour,  give  us 
such  a  hold  of  other  worlds  as  shall  enable  us  to  use  the  present  without 
abusing  it.  In  the  night  time,  and  in  the  hour  of  darkness,  show  us 
some  of  the  other  worlds  in  vision.  Even  in  the  quietness  and  silence  of 
the  night,  come  into  our  imagination  and  reveal  what  our  senses  are 
unable  to  comprehend.  In  the  silence  speak  to  us  as  thou  only  canst 
whisper  to  the  heart.  Recall  our  best  days  ;  the  altar  where  our  noblest 
prayers  were  uttered  do  thou  ever  set  before  our  eyes.  Gather  together 
all  our  vows  and  oaths,  and  promises  of  better  life,  and  enable  us  to 
repeat  them,  every  one,  by  the  grace  of  Christ,  and  in  his  strength  to 


THE   TEXT.  219 


renew  our  early  devotion  to  his  Kingdom.  Pity  us  in  all  our  weariness, 
and  littleness,  and  want  of  perception,  and  remember  that  we  were  born 
yesterday,  and  that  we  are  here  but  until  to-morrow.  Spare  thine  anger  ; 
loose  not  against  us  the  bolts  of  thy  wrath,  but  take  us  into  thy  great 
compassion  and  sustain  us  daily  by  thy  tender  mercy. 

For  all  the  little  joys  that  come  to  us  on  the  road  we  bless  thee.  For 
the  sweet  spring  time  and  the  summer  flowers,  and  the  singing  birds,  for 
all  the  little  surprises  of  love  that  make  the  day  glad  ;  for  friendly  letters, 
and  loving  messages,  and  graspings  of  the  hand  that  mean  trust  and 
grace  ;  for  all  encouragements  that  make  us  more  hopeful  in  the  time  of 
difficulty,  we  would  bless  thee  and  we  would  regard  them  as  hints  of 
thine  own  inspiration  and  daily  benediction. 

We  remember  our  loved  ones  who  are  not  here.  The  father  and 
mother  at  home,  near  at  hand,  or  far  away.  The  traveller  who  has  left 
us,  but  in  his  leaving  has  also  given  promise  of  return.  For  all  who  are 
in  sorrow,  trouble,  and  difficulty,  we  pray  thy  guidance  and  thy  sanctify- 
ing blessing.  May  the  dying  die  without  knowing  it,  because  of  the  ful- 
ness of  the  triumph  of  grace  in  their  hearts.  Strengthen  us  during  the 
few  little  days  we  have  yet  to  live,  and  so  cause  the  light  of  Christ  to  fall 
upon  us  that  we  may  see  the  true  littleness  of  earth,  and  the  magnitude 
of  the  heaven  to  which  we  are  hastening.  Thus  may  we  live  in  the 
power  of  an  endless  life.  And  being  rooted  in  Christ's  eternity,  we  can- 
not die.     Amen. 

Acts  ix.  1-22. 

1.  And  Saul,  yet  breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter  against  the 
disciples  of  the  Lord,  went  unto  the  high  priest, 

2.  And  desired  of  him  letters  to  Damascus  to  the  synagogues,  that  if 
he  found  any  of  this  way,  whether  they  were  men  or  women,  he  might 
bring  them  bound  unto  Jerusalem. 

3.  And  as  he  journeyed,  he  came  near  Damascus  :  and  suddenly  there 
shined  round  about  him  a  light  from  heaven  : 

4.  And  he  fell  to  the  earth,  and  heard  a  voice  saying  unto  him,  Saul, 
Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me  ? 

5.  And  he  said.  Who  art  thou.  Lord  ?  And  the  Lord  said,  I  am  Jesus 
whom  thou  persecutest  :  it  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  pricks. 

6.  And  he  trembling  and  astonished  said.  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have 
me  to  do  ?  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Arise,  and  go  into  the  city,  and 
it  shall  be  told  thee  what  thou  must  do. 

7.  And  the  med  which  journeyed  with  him  stood  speechless,  hearing  a 
voice,  but  seeing  no  man. 

8.  And  Saul  arose  from  the  earth  ;  and  when  his  eyes  were  opened,  he 
saw  no  man  :  but  they  led  him  by  the  hand,  and  brought  him  into 
Damascus. 

9.  And  he  was  three  days  without  sight,  and  neither  did  eat  nor  drink. 


220  ACTS    IX.    1-22. 


10.  And  there  was  a  certain  disciple  at  Damascus,  named  Ananias  t 
and  to  him  said  the  Lord  in  a  vision,  Ananias.  And  he  said,  Behold  I 
am  here,  Lord. 

11.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Arise,  and  go  into  the  street  which  is 
called  Straight,  and  enquire  in  the  house  of  Judas  for  one  called  Saul,  oi 
Tarsus  :  for,  behold,  he  prayeth, 

12.  And  hath  seen  in  a  vision  a  man  named  Ananias  coming  in,  and 
putting  his  hand  on  him,  that  he  might  receive  his  sight. 

13.  Then  Ananias  answered.  Lord,  I  have  heard  by  many  of  this  man, 
how  much  evil  he  hath  done  to  thy  saints  at  Jerusalem  : 

14.  And  here  he  hath  authority  from  the  chief  priests  to  bind  all  that 
call  on  thy  name. 

15.  But  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Go  thy  way  :  for  he  is  a  chosen  vessel 
unto  me,  to  bear  my  name  before  the  Gentiles,  and  kings,  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  : 

16.  For  I  will  shew  him  how  great  things  he  must  suffer  for  my 
name's  sake. 

17.  And  Ananias  went  his  way,  and  entered  into  the  house  ;  and  put- 
ting his  hands  on  him  said,  Brother  Saul,  the  Lord,  even  Jesus,  that  ap- 
peared unto  thee  in  the  way  as  thou  earnest,  hath  sent  me,  that  thou 
mightest  receive  thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost. 

18.  And  immediately  there  fell  from  his  eyes  as  it  had  been  scales  : 
and  he  received  sight  forthwith,  and  arose,  and  was  baptized. 

19.  And  when  he  had  received  meat,  he  was  strengthened.  Then  was 
Saul  certain  days  with  the  disciples  which  were  at  Damascus. 

20.  And  straightway  he  preached  Christ  in  the  synagogues,  that  he  is 
the  Son  of  God. 

21.  But' all  that  heard  him  were  amazed,  and  said  ;  Is  not  this  he  that 
destroyed  them  which  called  on  this  name  in  Jerusalem,  and  came  hither 
for  that  intent,  that  he  might  bring  them  bound  unto  the  chief  priests  ? 

22.  But  Saul  increased  the  more  in  strength,  and  confounded  the  Jews 
which  dwelt  at  Damascus,  proving  that  this  is  very  Christ. 


The  following  exposition  of  Acts.  ix.  1-22  is  reprinted  from 
The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools,  and  is  here  given  as  one  of  the 
clearest  and  most  condensed  with  which  I  am  acquainted  : — 

1.  And  [Rut]  Saul,  yet  breathing  out  tltreateuittgs  [threatening].  It  is 
better  to  translate  the  conjunction  adversatively  here,  as  the  new  subject 
is  not  connected  except  with  the  first  sentence  of  chap.  viii.  The  verb  in 
this  clause  should  be  rendered  "breathing,"  not  "breathing  out." 
Threatening  and  slaughter  was,  as  it  were,  the  atmosphere  in  which  Saul 
was  living. 

and  slaii^iihler  agiiiiist  the  disciples  of  the  Lord\  We  are  not  told  of  any 
Other  death,  but  S*icphen's,  in  which  Saul  was  a  participator,  but  we  can 


EXPOSITION.  221 


gather  from  his  o%vn  words  (Acts  xxvi.  lo)  "when  they  were  put  to 
death,  I  gave  my  voice  [vote]  against  them,"  that  the  protomartyr  was 
not  the  only  one  who  was  killed  in  the  time  of  this  persecution.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  the  zeal  virhich  Saul  shewed  at  the  time  of  Stephen's 
death  led  to  his  election  into  the  Sanhedrin,  and  so  he  took  a  judicial  part 
in  the  later  stages  of  the  persecution,  and,  it  may  be,  from  a  desire  to 
justify  the  choice  of  those  who  had  placed  him  in  authority,  he  sought  to 
be  appointed  over  the  enquiry  after  the  Christians  in  Damascus.  We 
gather  from  xxvi.  lo,  that  before  this  inquisitorial  journey  he  had  been 
armed  with  the  authority  of  the  chief  priests  in  his  search  after  the  Chris- 
tians in  Jerusalem. 

luent  unto  the  high  priest]  who  would  most  likely  be  the  authority 
through  whom  the  power,  which  the  Great  Sanhedrin  claimed  to  exercise, 
in  religious  matters,  over  Jews  in  foreign  cities,  would  be  put  in  motion. 

2.  and  desired  of  him  letters]  These  are  the  papers  which  constituted 
his  "  authority  and  commission' '  (xxvi.  12).  From  that  passage  we  learn 
that  the  issuing  of  these  papers  was  the  act  of  the  whole  body,  for  Paul 
there  says  they  were  "  from  the  chief  priests." 

to  Damasctis]  Of  the  history  of  this  most  ancient  (Gen.  xiv.  15)  city  in 
the  world,  see  the  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.  It  had  from  the  earliest  period 
been  mixed  up  with  the  history  of  the  Jews,  and  great  numbers  of  Jews 
were  living  there  at  this  time,  as  we  can  see  from  the  subsequent  notices 
of  their  conduct  in  this  chapter.  We  are  told  by  Josephus  {B.  J.  11.  20.  2) 
that  ten  thousand  Jews  were  slaughtered  in  a  massacre  in  Damascus  in 
Nero's  time,  and  that  the  wives  of  the  Damascenes  were  almost  all  of 
them  addicted  to  the  Jewish  religion. 

to  the  synagogues]  As  at  Jerusalem,  so  in  Damascus  the  synagogues 
were  numerous,  and  occupied  by  different  classes  and  nationalities. 
Greek-Jews  were  sure  to  be  found  in  so  large  a  city. 

that  if  he  found  any  of  this  way]  Better,  "  any  that  were  of  the 
Way."  The  name  "  the  Way"  soon  became  a  distinctive  appellation  of 
the  Christian  religion.  The  fuller  expression  "  the  way  of  truth"  is 
found  2  Pet.  ii.  2  ;  and  the  brief  term  is  common  in  the  Acts.  See  xix. 
g,  23,  xxii.  4,  xxiv.  14,  22. 

■whether... men  or  women]  We  can  mark  the  fury  with  which  Saul  raged 
against  the  Christians  from  this  mention  of  the  "  women"  as  included 
among  those  whom  he  committed  or  desired  to  commit  to  prison.  Cp. 
viii.  3  and  xxii.  4.  The  women  played  a  more  conspicuous  part  among 
the  early  Christians  than  they  were  allowed  to  do  among  the  Jews.  See 
note  on  i.  14. 

he  might  biing  them  bound  unto  ferusalem]  That  the  whole  authority 
of  the  Great  Sanhedrin  might  be  employed  for  the  extinction  of  the  new 
teaching. 

3.  And  as  he  journeyed]  There  were  two  roads  by  which  Saul  could 
make  his  journey,  one  the  caravan  road  which  led  from  Egypt  to  Damas- 
cus, and  kept  near  the  coast  line  of  the  Holy  Land  till  it  struck  eastward 


ACTS  IX.  I- 


to  cross  the  Jordan  at  the  north  of  the  Lake  of  Tiberias.  To  join  this 
road  Saul  must  have  at  first  turned  westward  to  the  sea.  The  other  way- 
led  through  Neapolis  and  crossed  the  Jordan  south  of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias, 
and  passing  through  Gadara  went  north-eastward  to  Damascus.  We 
have  no  means  whereby  to  decide  by  which  road  Saul  and  his  compan- 
ions took  their  way.  The  caravan  road  was  a  distance  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-six  miles,  and  occupied  six  days  for  the  journey. 

he  came  near  Damascus']  The  original  is  more  full.  Read,  "  it  came 
to  pass  that  he  drew  nigh  unto  Damascus."  The  party  must  have  reached 
the  near  neighbourhood  of  the  city,  for  his  companions  (-'.  8)  "  led  him 
by  the  hand  and  brought  him  into  Damascus"  after  the  vision. 

and  suddenly  there  shined  round  about  him  a  light  from  heaven]  In  xxii. 
6  we  are  told  that  the  time  of  day  was  "  about  noon"  when  the  vision 
was  seen,  and  in  xxvi.  13,  Paul  says  that  at  "  mid-day"  the  light  was 
"above  the  brightness  of  the  sun."  The  mid-day  glare  of  an  Eastern 
sun  is  of  itself  exceedingly  bright,  and  the  hour  was  chosen,  we  cannot 
doubt,  in  order  that  "  the  glory"  of  this  heaven-sent  light  should  not  be 
confounded  with  any  natural  phenomenon.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  this 
glory  that  Christ  was  seen  by  Saul  (i  Cor.  xv.  8),  so  that  he  can  enumer- 
ate himself  among  those  who  had  beheld  the  Lord  after  His  resurrection. 

4.  And  he  fell  to  the  earth]  Dazzled  by  the  intense  brightness.  From 
xxvi.  14  we  find  that  not  only  Saul  but  his  companions  were  struck  down 
by  the  light,  though  there  was  more  in  the  vision  which  he  beheld  than 
was  made  evident  to  them,  and  by  reason  of  the  greater  glory  which  was 
manifested  to  him,  his  natural  sight  was  blinded. 

and  heard  a  voice]  We  cannot  represent  in  English  the  different  case 
of  the  noun  in  this  verse,  and  in  7.  The  Greek  puts  here  the  accusative 
case  and  there  the  genitive,  and  thus  indicates  that  there  was  a  difference 
m  the  nature  of  the  hearing  of  Saul  and  of  his  com.panions.  And  Paul  in 
xxii.  9  marks  the  distinction  in  his  own  narration,  for  he  says  "  They 
heard  not  the  voice  (accusative)  of  him  that  spake  to  me."  As  this  differ- 
ence is  made  both  in  St.  Luke's  first  account,  and  in  the  speech  of  St. 
Paul  at  Jerusalem,  it  seems  reasonable  to  accept  the  explanation  which 
has  long  ago  been  given  of  this  grammatical  variation,  and  to  understand 
that  Saul  heard  an  articulate  sound,  a  voice  which  spake  to  him,  while  his 
companions  were  only  conscious  of  a  sound  from  which  they  compre- 
hended nothing.  St.  Paul  then  is  precise  when  he  says  "  they  heard  not 
the  voice"  which  I  heard,  and  St.  Luke  is  correct  when  in  ;•.  7  he  says 
"  they  heard  a  sound." 

saying  unto  him,  Saul,  Saul,  -why  persecutest  thou  me  ?]  It  is  very  note- 
worthy that  in  all  the  three  accounts  of  the  vision  the  Greek  text  of  Saul's 
name  is  a  transliteration  of  the  Hebrew,  shewing  that  we  have  here  a  very 
close  adherence  to  the  words  of  Jesus.  The  Lord  spake  in  the  language 
of  his  people,  and  both  the  Evangelist  and  the  Apostle  have  preserved  for 
us  this  remarkable  feature  of  the  heavenly  address.  The  only  other  place 
where  the  Hebrt>w  form  of  Saul's  name  is  retained  is  in  the  speech  of 


EXPOSITION. 


223 


Ananias  when  (ix.  17)  he  comes  to  see  the  convert  in  his  blindness.  As 
he  also  had  received  a  communication  from  Jesus  in  connection  with 
Saul's  conversion,  we  can  understand  how  the  same  form  of  the  name 
would  have  been  given  to  him.  Moreover  he  was  himself,  to  judge  from 
his  name,  a  Hebrew,  and  therefore  that  form  would  be  most  natural  on  his 
lips.  Except  in  these  cases  St.  Luke  always  employs  the  Greek  form  of 
the  word. 

Christ  speaks  of  himself  as  persecuted  by  Saul,  because  "in  all  the 
affliction  of  his  people  he  is  afflicted  "  (Isa.  Ixiii.  g),  and  "  whoso  toucheth 
them,  toucheth  the  apple  of  his  eye"  (Zech.  ii.  8). 

6.  And  he  said,  Who  art  thoti,  Lord?\  Saul  is  sensible  of  the  Divine 
nature  of  the  vision,  and  shews  this  by  his  address.  The  appearance  of 
Christ,  though  in  a  glorified  body,  must  have  been  like  that  which  he 
wore  in  his  humanity,  and  since  Saul  does  not  recognize  Jesus,  we  may 
almost  certainly  conclude  that  he  had  not  known  him  during  his  minis- 
terial life. 

And  the  Lord  said~\  The  best  texts  have  only  "  And  he,"  the  verb 
"  said  "  being  understood. 

I  am  Jesus  70 horn  thou  perseciitest']  In  xxii.  8  St.  Paul  gives  the  fuller 
form  of  the  sentence,  "  I  am  Jesus  of  Nazareth."  By  using  this  name, 
the  being  whose  Divine  nature  Saul  has  already  acknowledged  by  calling 
him  "  Lord,"  at  once  and  for  ever  puts  an  end  to  Saul's  persecuting  rage, 
for  he  is  made  to  see,  what  his  master  Gamaliel  had  before  suggested 
(v.  39),  that  to  persecute  Jesus  was  to  "  fight  against  God." 

it  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  pricks.  6.  And  he  trembling  and 
astonished  said,  Lord,  what  zuilt  thou  have  me  to  do?  And  the  Lord  said 
unto  him']  These  words  have  been  inserted  here  in  some  MSS.  for  the 
sake  of  making  in  this  place  a  complete  narrative  by  the  combination  and 
adaptation  of  the  additional  particulars  given  in  xxvi.  14  and  xxii.  10.  It 
is  easy  to  understand  the  desire  which  prompted  such  a  combination. 
The  best  MSS.  omit  the  words  here,  giving  them  where  they  more  natu- 
rally find  place,  in  the  personal  narratives  of  St.  Paul  himself. 

6.  Arise]  The  MSS.  which  omit  the  above  words  insert  a  conjunction 
here.  Read,  But  arise.  Saul  had  continued  prostrate  as  he  had  fallen 
down  at  the  first. 

and  go  into  the  city']  A  proof  that  the  party  of  travellers  had  arrived 
very  nearly  at  Damascus.  Tradition  here,  as  in  many  other  instances, 
has  fixed  on  a  spot  as  the  scene  of  this  Divine  vision.  It  is  placed  out- 
side the  eastern  gate,  and  about  a  mile  from  the  city.  Such  a  situation 
answers  very  well,  but  its  fitness  is  the  only  ground  for  attaching  any 
weight  to  the  tradition. 

atid  it  shall  be  told  thee  what  thou  must  do]  In  xxvi.  t6-iS  we  have  an 
abstract  given  by  the  Apostle  of  the  labours  for  which  Christ  designed 
him,  and  the  words  in  that  passage  are  placed  as  a  portion  of  the  Divine 
communication  made  before  Saul  entered  Damascus,  but  as  in  that  nar- 
rative no  mention  is  made  of  Ananias  or  his  visit,  we  may  conclude  that 


224  ^CTS    IX.    1-22. 


we  have  instead  a  brief  notice  of  the  message  which  Ananias  brought  to 
him,  and  that  therein  is  contained  a  declaration  of  what  Jesus  in  the  vision 
only  spoke  of  as  "  what  thou  must  do." 

7.  And  the  men  which  jotirneyed  with  him  stood  speechless]  Cp.  Dan. 
X.  7,  "  I  Daniel  alone  saw  the  vision,  for  the  men  that  were  with  me  saw 
not  the  vision,  but  a  great  quaking  fell  upon  them." 

Saul  was  not  only  furnished  with  authority,  but  also  with  men  who 
were  to  carry  out  his  intentions  and  bring  the  prisoners  to  Jerusalem. 
Painters  have  represented  the  travellers  as  riding  on  horseback,  but  there 
is  no  warrant  for  this  in  any  form  of  the  narrative. 

stood  here  means  "  remained  fixed,"  "  did  not  move."  They  had  been 
stricken  down  as  well  as  Saul  (xxvi.  14). 

hearing  a  [the]  voice]  On  the  variation  of  case  here,  and  the  probable 
difference  of  meaning,  see  note  on  v.  4. 

but  seeing  [beholding]  no  man]  The  verb  is  the  same  that  is  used  by 
Stephen  (vii.  56).  "  Behold,  I  see  the  heavens  opened."  In  their  aston- 
ishment, and  guided  by  the  sound,  Saul's  companions  lifted  up  their  faces 
to  the  sky,  but  as  with  the  words  so  with  the  appearance  of  Jesus  ;  it  was 
unseen  by  all  but  one,  but  to  him  was  manifest  enough  to  form  a  ground 
of  his  confidence  in  his  Apostolic  mission  :  "  Have  I  not  seen  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord  ?"  (i  Cor.  xi.  i.) 

8.  and  [but]  luhen  his  eyes  where  opened,  he  sarc  no  man  [nothing]  The 
vision  had  struck  him  blind.  He  opened  his  eyes,  but  their  power  had 
been  taken  away.  Thus  his  physical  condition  becomes  a  fit  representa- 
tion of  the  mental  blindness  which  he  afterwards  (xxvi.  9)  deplores  :  "  I 
verily  thought  with  myself  that  I  ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to  the 
name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth." 

but  [and]  they  led  him  by  the  hand]  His  companions  saw  all  things  as 
before,  and  were  able  to  guide  him  who  had  started  forth  as  the  leader  in 
their  mission  of  persecution. 

9.  And  he  tuas  three  days  without  sight]  During  this  time  we  cannot 
but  think  the  illumination  of  his  mind  was  being  perfected  by  the  Spirit. 
He  had  been  convinced  by  the  vision  that  Jesus  was  risen  from  the  dead 
and  ascended  into  heaven.  But  more  than  this  was  needed  for  the  prep- 
aration of  this  mighty  missionary.  He  himself  (Gal.  i.  16)  speaks  of 
God  revealing  His  Son  not  only  to  but  in  him,  and  that  his  conferences 
were  not  with  flesh  and  blood,  and  we  are  told  below  (7-.  12)  that  the 
coming  of  Ananias  had  been  made  known  unto  him  by  vision.  To  this 
solemn  time  of  darkness  may  also  perhaps  be  referred  those  "  visions  and 
revelations  of  the  Lord  "  which  the  Apostle  speaks  of  to  the  Corinthians 
(2  Cor.  xii.  1-4).  While  his  bodily  powers  were  for  a  time  in  suspense, 
he  may  fitly  describe  himself  as  not  knowing  whether  what  he  saw  was 
revealed  to  him  "  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body,"  and  it  was  the  spirit- 
ual vision  only  which  saw  the  third  heaven  and  paradise,  and  the  spirit 
heard  those  "  unspeakable  words  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to 
utter." 


EXPOSITION. 


and  neither  did  eat  nor  drinkX  The  mental  anguish  for  a  time  over- 
powered the  natural  craving  for  food.  The  newly  called  Apostle  was  con- 
templating in  all  its  enormity  his  sin  in  persecuting  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  though  there  were  times  of  comfort  and  refreshing  before  Ananias 
came,  yet  the  great  thought  which  filled  Saul's  mind  would  be  sorrow  for 
his  late  mad  and  misdirected  zeal,  and  so  the  three  days  of  blindness 
formed  a  period  of  deep  penitence. 

10 — 22.     Saul's  sight  restored.     He  preaches  in  Damascus. 

10.  And  [Now]  there  7vas  a  certain  disciple  at  DaT?iascus  tiamed  Ananias'\ 
Of  this  disciple  we  have  no  further  mention  in  Holy  Writ  except  in 
chap.  xxii.  12,  where  St.  Paul  describes  him  as  "  a  devout  man  according 
to  the  Law,  having  a  good  report  of  all  the  Jews  which  dwelt"  at  Damas- 
cus. Whether  he  had  become  a  Christian  during  the  life  of  Jesus  or  was 
among  the  Jewish  converts  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  or  at  some  subsequent 
time,  and  had  been  forced  to  flee  from  Jerusalem  by  the  persecution 
which  followed  on  the  death  of  Stephen,  we  are  not  told,  but  we  can 
gather,  from  the  words  which  he  employs  in  expressing  his  reluctance  to 
visit  Saul,  that  he  had  much  and  trustworthy  communication  still  with  the 
Holy  City,  for  he  knows  both  of  the  havoc  which  the  persecutor  has 
caused,  and  of  the  purpose  of  his  mission  to  Damascus.  On  the  name 
Ananias  see  v.  i,  note. 

and  to  him  said  the  Lord  in  a  vision"]  As  .Saul  had  been  prepared  for 
the  visit  by  a  vision,  so  Ananias  is  by  a  vision  instructed  to  go  to  him. 
Dean  Howson's  x^mzxk.?,  {Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  i.  loi)  on  this 
preparation  and  its  similarity  to  the  preparation  of  Peter  and  Cornelius 
deserve  to  be  dwelt  on.  "  The  simultaneous  preparation  of  the  hearts  of 
Ananias  and  Saul,  and  the  simultaneous  preparation  of  those  of  Peter  and 
Cornelius — the  questioning  and  hesitation  of  Peter  and  the  questioning 
and  hesitation  of  Ananias — the  one  doubting  whether  he  might  make 
friendship  with  the  Gentiles,  the  other  doubting  whether  he  might 
approach  the  enemy  of  the  Church— the  unhesitating  obedience  of  each 
when  the  Divine  will  was  made  clearly  known — the  state  of  mind  in 
which  both  the  Pharisee  and  the  Centurion  were  found — each  waiting  to 
see  what  the  Lord  would  say  unto  them — this  close  analogy  will  not  be 
forgotten  by  those  who  reverently  read  the  two  consecutive  chapters,  in 
which  the  baptism  of  Saul  and  the  baptism  of  Cornelius  are  narrated  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles."  When  so  much  criticism  has  been  expended 
to  shew  that  the  Acts  is  a  work  of  fiction  written  at  a  late  period  to  min- 
imize certain  differences  supposed  to  exist  between  the  teaching  of  St. 
Paul  and  that  of  St.  Peter,  it  is  well  to  know  that  others  have  seen,  in 
these  undoubted  analogies  proofs  of  the  working  of  a  God  who  is  ever  the 
same,  and  who  would  have  all  men  to  be  saved  through  JesUs  Christ. 

11,  into  the  street  which  is  called  Straight]  A  long  straight  street  still 
runs  through  Damascus,  and  is  probably  (so  persistent  is  every  feature  of 


226  ACTS    IX.    1-22. 


Oriental  life)  the  same  in  which  Ananias  found  Saul   in  the  house  of 
Judas. 

12.  and  hath  seen  in  a  vision']  The  oldest  MSS.  omit  "in  a  vision." 
It  could  only  have  been  in  this  wise  that  Saul  had  been  informed,  and  the 
words  are  merely  a  gloss. 

13.  7  have  heard  l>y  [from]  many,  etc.]  These  words  seem  to  point  to 
a  longer  residence  of  Ananias  in  Damascus  than  he  could  have  made  if 
he  had  only  left  Jerusalem  after  the  death  of  Stephen  ;  and  so  do  the 
words  (xxii.  12)  which  speak  of  his  good  report  among  all  the  Jews  that 
dwelt  at  Damascus. 

how  much  evil  he  hath  done  to  thy  saints,  etc.]  The  Christian  converts 
were  probably  called  "  saints,"  i.e.,  "  holy  persons,"  at  a  very  early 
period  after  the  death  of  Christ  because  of  the  marvellous  outpourings  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  first  converts,  cp.  i  Pet.  i.  15.  The  word  is  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  the  greetings  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles. 

14.  all  that  call  on  thy  name]  To  call  on  Christ  is  the  same  as  to  be  a 
believer  in  Him.  The  expression  is  used  as  an  apposition  to  *' saints" 
in  I  Cor.  i.  2,  and  thence  we  see  what  in  the  Pauline  language  was  meant 
by  the  word  "  saints." 

15.  he  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  me]  Literally,  "  a  vessel  of  election." 
This  is  a  Hebrew  form  of  expression,  cp.  Jer.  xxii.  28,  where  King 
Coniah  is  called  "  a  vessel  wherein  is  no  pleasure."  So  Jer.  li.  34,  "  He 
hath  made  me  [to  be]  an  empty  vessel,"  literally,  "  vessel  of  emptiness." 

fa  bear  my  name]  i.e.,  this  shall  be  the  load  or  duty  which  I  will  lay 
upon  this  my  chosen  instrument. 

before  the  Gentiles]  This  was  doubtless  a  revelation  to  Ananias,  who 
as  a  devout  Jew  would  not  yet  have  contemplated  the  inclusion  of  the 
whole  world  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  The  Gentiles  are  placed  first  in  the 
enumeration,  because  among  them  specially  was  Saul's  field  of  labour  to 
be.  For  the  wide  spirit  in  which  the  Apostle  embraced  his  commission, 
see  Rom.  i.  13,  14,  etc. 

and  kings]  As  before  Agrippa  (xxvi.  1,  32)  and  at  Rome,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  appeal  to  be  heard  before  Caesar. 

IQ,  for  /  will  shew  hitn  how  great  [many]  things  he  must  suffer]  Cp. 
Paul's  own  words  (xx.  23),  "  The  Holy  Ghost  witnesseth  in  every  city, 
saying  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me."  The  truth  of  this  is  borne 
out  by  that  long  list  of  the  Apostle's  sufferings  which  he  enumerates  in  his 
letter  to  the  Corinthians  (2  Cor.  xi.  23-28)  and  the  less  detailed  list  in  the 
same  Epistle  (vi.  4-5). 

17.  Brother  Saul]     The  Hebrew  form  of  the  name,  see  v.  4,  note. 

the  Lord,  even  Jesus]  Combining  the  name  "  Lord  "  used  by  Saul  when 
the  vision  appeared,  with  that  "  Jesus  "  which  Christ,  speaking  from  His 
glory,  uttered  in  answer  to  Saul's  enquiry.  Who  art  thou  ? 

that  appeared  unto  thee  in  the  wa\^  Thus  was  brought  to  Saul  after  his 
three  days'  blindness  a  confirmation  from  without  of  the  reality  of  what  he 
had  seen  on  the  road  as  he  came.     The  words  at  the  same  time  gave  an 


EXPOSITION.  227 


earnest  that  here  was  the  teacher  who  would  explain  to  him  what  he  waJ 
to  do. 

and  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghosf]  On  this  occasion  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
bestowed  without  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  one  of  the  twelve. 

18.  And  immediately  there  fell  from  his  eyes  as  it  had  been  scales'\  The 
word  rendered  "  scales"  is  used  as  a  technical  term  for  a  disease  of  the 
eye  by  Hippocrates,  and  the  verb  derived  from  it  is  found  (Tobit  xi.  13) 
used  of  the  cure  of  a  disease  of  similar  character.  "And  the  whiteness 
pilled  a7uayivom  the  corners  of  his  eyes."  This  "whiteness"  is  rendered 
in  the  margin  (Tob.  ii.  10)  "  white  films/'  and  was  clearly  something  like 
the  "  scales"  which  caused  Saul's  blindness,  and  a  process  for  the  cure 
thereof  is  called  (iii.  17)  "  to  j-(r«/<f  away  the  whiteness  of  Tobit's  eyes." 
St.  Paul  (xxii.  11)  ascribes  his  blindness  to  the  glory  of  the  heavenly 
light,  and  it  may  have  been  some  secretion,  caused  by  the  intensity  of 
that  vision,  which  formed  over  them,  and  at  his  cure  fell  away.  Some 
have  thought  that  his  constant  employment  of  an  amanuensis,  and  the 
mention  of  the  large  characters  in  which  he  wrote  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians  (vi.  11),  "  Ye  see  in  what  large  letters  I  have  written  to  you," 
are  indications  that  the  Apostle  suffered  permanently  in  his  eyesight  from 
the  heavenly  vision. 

and  he  received  [recovered,  and  so  in  17]  sight  forthwith]  The  oldest 
MSS.  omit  the  last  word. 

•  and  arose,  and  7uas  baptized]  In  the  fuller  account  (xxii.  16)  we  learn 
that  the  exhortation  to  be  baptized  was  part  of  the  message  with  which 
Ananias  was  charged,  and  so  was  divinely  commissioned  to  receive  Saul 
thus  into  the  Christian  Church. 

19.  and  when  he  had  received  [taken]  meat,  etc.]  Needed  after  his  three 
days'  fast,  but  (says  Calvin)  "  he  refreshed  not  his  body  with  meat  until 
his  soul  had  received  strength." 

Then  7vas  Saul  certain  days  with  the  disciples  which  'Mere  at  Damascus] 
The  word  Saul  is  not  found  in  the  oldest  MSS.  Read  "  And  he  was, 
etc."  The  expression  rendered  "  certain  days"  is  the  same  which  in  x. 
48,  XV.  36,  xvi.  12,  xxiv.  24,  and  xxv.  13  is  used  by  St.  Luke,  and  in  all 
cases  the  time  indicated  by  them  must  have  been  brief.  It  was  for  this 
amount  of  time  that  Peter  tarried  with  Cornelius,  the  words  are  applied 
to  a  short  period  spent  by  Paul  and  Barnabas  at  Antioch,  to  the  time  of 
St  Paul's  stay  at  Philippi,  to  the  short  tune  which  Paul  was  detained  at 
Caesarea  before  his  hearing  by  Felix,  and  to  a  like  period  between  the 
arrival  of  Festus  and  the  visit  which  Agrippa  made  to  salute  him  as  the 
new  Governor.  In  most  of  these  instances  the  time  mtended  must  have 
been  very  brief,  and  it  is  important  to  notice  this  here,  because  in  v.  23 
we  shall  find  another  expression  which  is  translated  "  many  days"  and 
seems  designed  by  the  writer  to  indicate  a  somewhat  longer  period.  It 
is  clear,  from  the  way  in  which  "  disciples"  are  here  mentioned,  that 
there   was   a   numerous  body  of  Christians   in   Damascus   at  this  early 


ACTS  IX.  1-22. 


period.     Saul  dwelt  with  them  now  not  as  an  enemy  but  as  a  brother,  by 
which  name  Ananias  had  been  directed  to  greet  him. 

20.  And  straightway  he  preached  Christ  [proclaimed  Jesus]  in  the  syna- 
gogues, that  he  is  the  Son  of  Cod]  The  best  MSS.  read  jfestis  in  this  verse, 
and  this  naturally  is  correct.  The  preaching  which  was  to  be  to  the  Jews 
a  stumblingblock  was  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  the  Christ,  their  long- 
expected  Messiah. 

He  went,  as  was  Christ's  custom  also,  into  the  synagogues  as  the  most 
likely  places  where  to  find  an  audience  who  would  listen  to  his  proclama- 
tion. His  letters  to  the  synagogues  {v.  2)  were  not  delivered,  but  he 
came  as  the  herald  of  one  of  higher  authority  than  the  chief  priests.  For 
St.  Paul's  constant  practice  of  teaching  in  the  Jewish  synagogues,  see 
xiii.  5,  xiv.  I,  xvii.  i,  10,  xviii.  4,  iq,  xix.  8. 

21.  But  all  that  heard  him  were  amazed]  Saul's  fame  as  a  persecutor 
of  Christians  was  well  known  to  the  Jews  of  Damascus,  and  the  authori- 
ties of  the  synagogues  may  have  been  instructed  beforehand  to  welcome 
him  as  a  zealous  agent.  If  so  their  amazement  is  easy  to  understand. 
It  is  clear  from  what  follows  in  this  verse  that  they  knew  of  his  mission 
and  the  intention  thereof,  though  Saul  did  not  bring  them  his  "  commis- 
sion and  authority."  We  should  gather  also  from  the  strong  expression 
"destroyed,"  used  to  describe  Saul's  career  in  Jerusalem,  that  the 
slaughter  of  the  Christians  there  had  not  been  limited  to  the  stoning  or 
Stephen. 

22.  But  Saul  increased  the  more  in  strength]  i.e.,  he  became  more  and 
more  energetic  in  his  labours  and  the  Holy  Ghost  gave  him  more  power. 
His  fitness  for  the  labour  on  which  he  was  entering  was  very  great.  He 
possessed  all  the  Jewish  learning  of  a  zealous  pupil  of  Gamaliel,  and  now 
that  he  had  seen  Jesus  in  the  glory  of  the  Godhead,  he  could  use  his  stores 
of  learning  for  the  support  of  the  new  teaching  in  such  wise  as  to  com- 
mend it  to  those  Jews  who  were  looking  for  the  consolation  of  Israel. 
But  these  would  naturally  be  the  smallest  portion  ot  his  hearers.  The 
rest  of  the  Jews  were  confounded.  They  heard  their  Scripture  applied 
by  a  trained  mind,  and  shewn  to  be  applicable  to  the  life  of  Jesus.  They 
could  not  at  this  time  make  an  attack  on  Saul,  for  they  were  paralyzed  by 
what  they  heard,  and  it  was  only  when  some  time  had  elapsed  that  they 
resolved  to  continue  in  their  rejection  of  Jesus  and  then,  at  a  later  time, 
their  persecution  of  Saul  began. 

proving  that  this  is  very  [the]  Christ],  The  word  here  rendered  "  prov- 
ing" is  used  again  in  xvi.  10,  and  translated  "assuredly  gathering." 
The  idea  conveyed  by  it  is  that  of  putting  things  side  by  side,  and  so 
making  a  comparison  and  forming  a  conclusion.  Thus  Saul,  well 
equipped  with  a  knowledge  of  the  ancient  Scriptures,  set  before  his 
hearers  a  description  of  the  Messiah  as  he  is  there  portrayed,  and  relating 
the  life  history  of  Jesus,  shewed  them  that  in  him  the  Scriptures  of  the 
prophets  had  been.fulfilled. 


CONVERSION  OF  SAUL.  229 

THE  CONVERSION  OF  SAUL. 

THE  third  verse  of  this  chapter  has  in  it  a  statement  which  is 
in  subtle  harmony  with  all  the  necessities  of  the  case.  The 
verse  reads  thus  : — "  And  as  he  journeyed,  he  came  near  Damas- 
cus :  and  suddenly  there  shined  round  about  him  a  light  from 
heaven."  We  have  heard  opinions  about  what  we  term  sudden 
conversions.  Some  persons  do  not  believe  in  them.  They  have 
conceptions  regarding  conversion  which  are  not  confirmed  in  their 
truthfulness  by  any  sudden  or  violent  change  of  mind  and  action. 
But  here  is  the  very  word  that  is  objected  to  !  It  is  an  Old  Testa- 
ment word.  Suddenness  was  approved  by  the  Lord  of  the  Jewish 
Church  ;  for  He,  Himself  taught  this  prophet  to  say,  "  The  Lord 
shall  SUDDENLY  come  to  His  temple."  ]\Iark  the  harmony  of  that 
particular  feature  of  the  incident,  with  the  great  purpose  which  was 
wrought  out  by  the  grace  of  God.  A  slow,  deliberate,  intellectual 
transformation  would  have  been  a  moral  violence  under  circum- 
stances so  peculiar.  There  are  times  when  quietness  itself  is  out 
of  place.  There  are  occasions  which  require  the  thunder  and  the 
lightning  and  all  the  instruments  of  surprise  which  are  within  the 
resources  of  God.  It  is,  therefore,  quite  in  keeping  with  the  key- 
note of  the  story  when  we  find  that  Saul  was  suddenly  struck.  It 
is  in  such  coincidences  and  harmonies  that  we  find  the  broadest 
and  clearest  proofs  of  Biblical  inspiration.  What  could  be  more 
harmonious  in  all  its  particulars  and  relations  than  the  story  of  the 
conversion  of  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  .?  A  man  quietly  reading  in 
his  chariot  and  filled  with  religious  wonder  as  to  the  meaning  of 
the  mysterious  Word  which  challenged  his  attention,  what  more 
seemly  and  beautiful,  than  that  a  teacher  should  sit  beside  him 
and  show  the  meaning  of  the  sacred  mysteries  ?  That  was  beauti- 
ful, that  was  an  instance  of  historical  and  moral  proportion  ;  but 
here  is  a  man  "  yet  breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter,"  a 
word  implying  continuous  and  unsuspended  action,  yea,  blast 
upon  blast  of  hottest  fury — with  such  a  man  you  cannot  reason, 
God  therefore  suddenly  strikes  him  to  the  ground.  In  that  action 
is  one  of  the  subtlest  proofs  and  illustrations  of  what  is  meant  by 
the  inspiralion  of  the  Bible.  Not  only  in  great  broad  features, 
but  in  proportion,  in  colour,  in  the  arrangement  of  the  parts,  in 
the  subtle  and  complete  harmony  of  the  whole,  I  find  the  pres- 


23P  ACTS  IX.  1-22. 


ence  of  God,  You  need  not  direct  my  eye  to  constellations  and 
astronomic  wonders,  for  when  I  consider  the  lilies,  and  behold 
the  fowls  of  the  air,  I  see  Divinity.  Let  us,  therefore,  admire 
this  Providence  of  arrangtmeyit,  and  this  inspiration  of  incidenty  as 
well  as  fall  down  in  religious  wonder  before  the  stupendous  con- 
version itself.  Do  not  reprove  the  suddenness  of  the  conversion 
until  you  understand  all  the  circumstances.  That  very  sudden- 
ness may  itself  be  part  of  the  occasion. 

Now,  look  at  the  incident  as  showing  Saul's  relation  to  Judaism, 
or,  in  other  words,  Saul's  relation  to  his  past  life.  Does  Jesus 
Christ  condemn  Judaism  ?  Certainly  not.  He  Himself  was  a 
Jew.  "  Salvation  is  of  the  Jews."  Saul  was  not  called  upon  to 
renounce  any  one  thing  he  believed  as  erroneous.  Let  us  care- 
fully weigh  that  remark,  for  all  that  is  most  sacred  in  ancient  his- 
tory seems  to  find  its  consummation  in  its  few  syllables.  Jesus 
Christ  did  not  say,  "  Saul,  you  are  religiously  wrong,  you  are  in- 
tellectually mistaken,  you  are  following  a  wrong  course  of  life 
which  had  bad  beginnings."  There  is  not  a  word  of  religious 
chiding  in  all  the  speech.  The  only  thing  that  was  being  done 
was  that  Saul  w^as  hurting  Himself.  "  Why  kick  against  the 
pricks }  Why  thrust  thyself  upon  the  sharp  goads,  to  thy 
wounding,  and  bleeding,  and  death  V  The  persecutor  only  hurts 
himself.  The  bad  man  digs  a  hell  for  himself  alone.  Jesus 
Christ  did  not  condemn  the  personal  attitude  of  Saul.  Saul  was 
an  Old  Testament  man.  The  Old  Testament  is  a  book  of  stoning 
and  scourging — "an  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth." 
The  unfilial  son  must  be  stoned,  the  heretic  must  be  stoned,  the 
blasphemer  must  be  stoned.  Saul  was  therefore  keeping  strictly 
within  historic  lines  and  constitutional  proprieties,  when  he  said 
in  effect,  "This  novel  heresy  must  be  stamped  out  with  force." 
Christianity  does  not  condemn  Judaism.  If  any  one  were  to  ask 
me,  "  What  is  the  relation  of  Christianity  to  Judaism  .''"  I  would 
say,  "  You  find  that  relation  in  the  verj'  form  of  the  book  which 
we  call  the  Bible."  What  have  we  in  the  Bible  }  Judaism  and 
Christianity,  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  In  the  very  form 
and  make-up  of  the  book  itself  I  have  the  best  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion— "  What  does  Christianity  say  about  Judaism  ?"  Christian- 
ity does  not  oppose  Judaism,  it  supersedes  it.     Christianity  takes  up 


THE  MASTER  MIRACLE.  231 

Judaism,  realizes  all  its  types  and  symbols  and  ceremonies.  Juda- 
ism is  the  dawn,  Christianity  is  the  full  noontide.  Christianity  is 
the  purple  autumn  bringing  to  maturity  and  sweetness  all  the  roots 
and  fruits  of  the  Judaism  which  it  followed  and  consummated. 
There  seems  to  be  a  good  deal  of  mistake  about  this  matter.  The 
Jew  is  simply  a  man  who  has  not  come  on  to  the  next  point  in 
history.  His  beginning  is  right.  Not  a  word  have  I  to  say 
against  any  solitary  ceremony  of  Judaism,  kept  within  proper 
time,  and  restrained  within  the  relations  appointed  by  God.  Chris- 
tianity continues,  completes,  and  glorifies  what  Judaism  began. 
But  for  Judaism  there  could  have  been  no  Christianity.  We  are 
debtors  to  the  Jew,  and  the  Jew  is,  in  my  opinion,  historically  and 
typically  the  greatest  man  that  lives.  The  Gentiles  never  converted 
themselves.  No  heathen  country  ever  originated  its  own  Chris- 
tianity. The  Jew  was  sent  to  the  Gentile.  The  m.ost  stubborn 
prejudices  were  turned  into  the  most  anxious  sympathies,  and  this 
is  the  crowning  miracle  of  the  grace  of  Christ. 

In  the  conversion  of  Saul  we  see  the  greatest  triumph  which 
Christianity  has  accomplished.  This  was  the  master-miracle. 
Who  is  this  man  .?  A  Jew,  of  an  ancient  and  honourable  pedi- 
gree ;  a  student,  a  scholar,  a  man  of  high  and  influential  station. 
Shrewder  than  Iscariot,  more  ardent  than  Peter — a  very  volcano 
of  a  man.  There  lay  within  him  capacity  to  do  anything  that 
mortals  ever  did.  When  his  teeth  once  took  hold,  they  could 
only  be  opened  by  an  Almighty  power.  His  hand  once  upon  the 
prey,  the .  prey  was  dead,  unless  the  fingers  be  unloosed  by 
Almightiness.  Jesus  Christ  himself  directly  undertakes  his  con- 
version, and  works  thus  his  supreme  spiritual  miracle.  When 
Saul  was  converted  there  was  more  than  one  man  changed. 
There  are  those  who  say  "  count  hands,"  as  if  one  hand  were 
equal  to  another.  There  is  a  conversion  of  quality  as  well  as  a  con- 
version of  quantity.  Some  conversions  are  to  be  weighed,  and  some 
are  to  be  merely  numbered.  Statistics  cannot  help  you  in  this 
matter.  Let  a  Saul  of  Tarsus  be  converted,  and  you  convert  an 
army  terrible  with  banners  !  He  will  not  let  the  Church  fall 
asleep.  He  will  not  let  the  world  allow  him  to  travel  through  all 
its  plains  and  cities  iiicog.  Many  of  us  will  manage  that  little 
task.  We  can  go  through  the  house,  the  place  of  business,  the 
market,  and  the  exchange,  and  come  out  at  the  other  end  without 


232  ACTS  IX.  I- 


anybody  identifying  us  !  Saul  of  Tarsus  will  presently  show  us 
how  to  go  through  the  world.  He  will  never  pass  without  recog- 
nition, and  no  town  will  he  be  in  without  setting  up  his  holy 
testimony. 

The  Lord  uses  a  remarkable  expression  concerning  this  man  in 
the  eleventh  verse,  "  Behold  he  prayeth."  Had  he  not  been 
praying  all  his  life-time  }  In  a  certain  sense  he  certainly  had  been 
praying.  Why  then  say  now,  ' '  Behold  he  prayeth  ' ' }  Old 
words  acquire  new  meanings.  Language  is  not  a  fixed  quantity, 
and  definition  is  something  more  than  a  technicality.  Different 
words  have  different  meanings  in  different  men,  and  the  same 
man  attaches  different  meanings  to  words  at  different  times  of  life. 
You  were  once  rich  upon  a  time  which  you  would  now  count  pov- 
erty. Once  you  were  proud  of  a  house  which  now  you  ignore. 
So  whilst  saying  prayers,  reciting  prayerful  terms  punctilious  in 
ritual,  exemplary  in  all  the  outward  observances  of  his  Church, 
Saul  had  yet  in  a  Christian  sense  never  prayed.  Prayer  is  a  Chris- 
tian acquisition.  Prayer  is  a  battering  ram  which  only  a  Christian 
arm  can  work.  When  the  Church  prays,  the  Church  wins.  If 
you  could  PRAY — not  merely  say  your  prayers — your  trouble  would 
be  forgotten  in  the  glorious  interview  with  heaven.  Prayer  is  not 
an  attitude,  a  mere  decency,  a  posture  of  the  body,  or  an  exercise 
of  the  tongue,  it  is  the  supreme  effort  of  Ihe  heart  to  throw,  in 
friendly  wrestling,  the  Almighty  God.  "  Ye  have  not  because 
ye  ask  not,  or  because  ye  ask  amiss. ' '  You  are  yourself  often  not 
there  when  you  pray,  your  soul  is  otherwhere.  If  you  were  pres- 
ent in  the  fulness,  intensity,  completeness,  and  determination  of 
energy  with  Christ's  Cross  as  the  medium  through  which  your 
prayers  went  up  to  heaven,  you  would  arise  from  your  knees 
more  than  conquerors. 

Another  remarkable  expression  we  find  in  the  sixteenth  verse, 
"  I  will  show  him  how  great  things  he  must  suffer  for  my  name's 
sake."  INIark  the  harmony  of  this  arrangement  also.  God 
knows  what  we  are  doing,  and  he  pays  to  the  uttermost.  "  Be 
not  deceived,  God  is  not  mocked  ;  whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that 
shall  he  also  reap."  Adonibezek  said,  "  As  I  have  done,  so  God 
hath  requited  me."  Samuel  said  to  Agag,  "As  thy  sword  liath 
made  women  childless,  so  shall  thy  mother  be  childless  among 
women."     Saul  was  in   this  succession.      "  lie  shall  have  judg- 


RETRIBUTION.  233 


ment  without  mercy  that  showed  no  mercy,"  Saul  was  a  student 
in  //W  school  of  compensation.  "  Whoso  shutteth  his  ears  at  the 
cry  of  the  poor,  he  also  shall  cry  himself,  but  shall  not  be  heard." 
Be  not  deceived.  Saul  was  now  made  to  feel  how  exactly  true 
these  terms  were.  "  Saul  made  havoc  of  the  Church"  (Acts 
viii.  3),  Next,  "  Having  stoned  Paul,  they  drew  him  out  of  the 
city,  supposing  him  to  be  dead  ' '  (Acts  xiv.  9).  ' '  Saul  yet 
breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter  against  the  disciples  of 
the  Lord"  (Acts  ix.  i).  Turn  now  to  the  twenty-third  chapter  : 
"  Certain  of  the  Jews  banded  together,  and  bound  themselves 
under  a  curse,  saying  that  they  would  neither  eat  nor  drink  till 
they  had  killed  Paul. "  "I  will  show  him  what  great  things  he 
must  suffer  for  my  name's  sake."  I  will  test  his  conversion 
(Gal.  i.  13).  "  Beyond  measure  I  persecuted  the  Church  of  God 
and  wasted  it."  Blow  for  blow,  stroke  for  stroke  !  "Of  the  Jews 
five  times  received  I  forty  stripes  save  one,  twice  was  I  beaten  with 
rods,  once  was  I  stoned,  thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck,  a  night  and 
a  day  I  have  been  in  the  deep. "  "I  will  show  him  what  great 
things  he  must  suffer  for  my  name's  sake."  A  man  lays  up  what 
he  will  one  day  have  to  meet  face  to  face  (Acts  xxvi.  10).  "  Many 
of  the  saints  did  I  shut  up  in  prison"  (Acts  xvi.  26).  "And 
when  they  had  lain  many  stripes  upon  Paul  they  cast  him  into 
prison. "  "I  will  show  him  how  great  things  he  must  suffer  for 
my  name' s  sake. ' '  Do  not  suppose  you  can  escape  God.  He  will 
let  us  for  a  time  suppose  that  we  have  escaped,  but  suddenly  He 
will  strike  us  to  the  root  with  light,  may  it  not  be  with  lightning  ! 
And  He  will  show  us  that  life  is  not  a  series  of  unconnected  acci- 
dents, but  a  great  and  solemn  stewardship  leading  up  to  judgment, 
to  penalty,  or  reward. 


XXVI. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  make  for  us,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour, 
entrances  into  the  upper  places,  where  the  light  is  brighter  than  it  is  down 
here.  We  desire  to  mount  as  upon  the  wings  of  eagles.  Thou  hast 
created  ino  our  hearts  a  passion  for  better  things.  Our  souls  yearn  for 
loftier  skies  than  those  which  now  shelter  us.  Thou  art  always  calling 
us  away  to  higher  heights  and  more  splendid  scenes.  In  Christ  Jesus  we 
know  not  the  rest  of  mean  contentment,  but  the  peace  of  noble  ambition. 
We  would  therefore  "  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  our  high 
calling  in  Christ  Jesus."  We  have  not  attained,  neither  are  we  already 
perfect,  but  knowing  this  and  knowing  the  fulness  of  the  grace  that  is  in 
Christ  Jesus,  we  would  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us. 

Thou  dost  continually  surprise  us  with  some  new  comfort  and  some 
unexpected  revelation.  Thou  dost  keep  the  best  wine  ;  thou  dost  not 
give  it  unto  us  ;  thou  hast  ever  something  more  behind.  Thou  art  from 
everlasting  to  everlasting,  and  there  is  no  searching  of  thine  understand- 
ing. We  have  heard  that  power  belongeth  unto  thee  ;  unto  thee  also,  O 
Lord,  belongeth  mercy.  In  thy  mercy  alone  can  we  live  ;  thy  mercy  as 
revealed  unto  us  in  thy  Son,  Son  of  man.  Son  of  God,  God  the  Son. 
Help  us  to  see  it  in  all  its  purity  and  fulness,  and  may  it  be  applied  to  us 
in  the  depth  of  our  humiliation.  Our  help  is  in  God.  In  no  other  can 
help  be  found  but  in  our  infinite  Redeemer.  Comfort  us  every  day  with 
his  grace,  and  stablish  us  in  his  truth.  Accept  the  thanks  we  bring  thee 
for  all  pity,  and  love,  and  care  ;  and  if  any  before  thee  wish  to  offer 
special  thanksgiving  for  special  mercies,  the  Lord  hear  the  utterance  of 
thankfulness,  and  return  continual  blessing. 

Be  with  those  who  have  new  prospects  opening  before  them,  and  new 
work  on  hand,  hardly  knowing  how  to  do  it.  The  Lord  give  wisdom  to 
those  who  desire  to  walk  in  the  way  of  understanding,  and  grant  unto 
those  who  are  looking  on  a  confidence  in  what  is  coming,  and  tlie  stead- 
fastness that  comes  of  faith  in  a  living  Providence.  Deliver  us  from  all 
fear,  and  inspire  us  with  that  noble  trust  in  thyself  which  gives  us  peace 
even  in  the  very  sanctuary  of  the  storm. 

The  Lord's  blessing  be  upon  this  assembly.  The  Lord  light  the  fire  at 
the  altar,  and  send  us  light  from  the  upper  Sanctuary,     Amen. 


THE    WORK  OF  CONVERSION.  235 

SAUL  SELF-CONTRASTED. 
Acts  ix.   1-22. 

WHAT  wonderful  co7itrasts  there  are  in  this  narrative  in  refer- 
ence to  the  character  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  !  He  is  not  the 
same  man  throughout,  and  yet  he  is  the  same.  The  contrasts  are 
so  sharp,  and,  indeed,  so  violent,  as  almost  to  make  him  into 
another  man  altogether.  For  example,  take  the  first  of  these  con- 
trasts, and  you  will  find  that  Saul,  who  went  out  Xo  persecute,  re- 
mained Xo  pray.  The  first  verse  reads,  "  And  Saul,  yet  breathing 
out  threatenings  and  slaughter  I"  and  in  the  eleventh  verse  occurs 
the  remarkable  expression,  "  Behold,  he  prayeth  !"  He  breathed 
hotly.  The  breath  of  his  nostrils  was  a  fierce  blast  that  burned 
the  air.  How  changed  in  a  little  time  !  for  his  face  is  turned  up- 
ward to  heaven,  and  its  very  look  is  a  pleading  supplication.  What 
has  occurred  ?  These  effects  must  be  accounted  for.  Have  they 
any  counterpart  in  our  own  observation  and  experience .?  Have 
any  of  us  passed  from  fierceness  to  gentleness,  from  drunkenness 
to  sobriety,  from  darkness  to  light,  from  blasphemy  to  worship .? 
Then  we  understand  what  is  meant  by  this  most  startling  contrast. 
There  may  be  others  who  have  advanced  so  quietly  and  gradually 
as  to  find  no  such  contrast  in  their  own  consciousness  and  experi- 
ence ;  but  we  must  not  judge  the  experience  of  the  whole  by  the 
experience  of  the  part.  This  is  precisely  the  work  which  Chris- 
tianity undertakes  to  do.  It  undertakes  to  cool  your  breath,  to 
take  the  fire  out  of  your  blood,  to  subdue  your  rancour  and  your 
malignity,  and  to  clasp  your  hands  in  childlike  plea  and  prayer  at 
your  Father's  feet.  Such  is  the  continual  miracle  of  Christianity. 
The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  would  have  nothing  to  do  if  this  were 
not  to  be  accomplished.  Jesus  makes  the  lion  lie  down  with  the 
lamb,  and  he  causes  the  child  to  hold  the  fierce  beast,  and  to  put 
its  hand  with  impunity  on  the  cockatrice  den.  Other  miracles  he 
has  ceased  to  perform,  but  this  continual  and  infinite  surprise  is 
the  standing  miracle  and  the  standing  testimony  of  Christ. 

Take  the  second  contrast,  which  is  quite  as  remarkable.  When 
Saul  was  a  Pharisee  \\q  persecuted ;  when  Saul  became  a  Christian 
we  read  in  the  twenty-second  verse  that  he  ^^ proved."     How  many 


236  ACTS  IX.  1-22. 


miles  of  the  moral  kind  lie  between  the  word  "  persecuted"  and 
the  word  ' '  proved  ' '  ?  Yet  this  is  distinctly  in  the  line  of  Chris- 
tian purpose  and  heavenly  intent.  As  a  Pharisee  he  said,  ' '  De- 
stroy Christianity,  by  destroying  Christians.  Bind  them  ;  put  an 
end  to  this  pestilence.  Do  not  stand  it  any  longer.  Open  your 
prison  doors,  and  I  will  fill  your  dungeons,  and  we  will  bring  this 
new  and  mischievous  heresy  to  a  speedy  termination. ' '  Such  was  his 
first  policy.  Having  seen  Jesus,  and  felt  his  touch,  and  entered 
into  his  Spirit,  what  does  he  say  }  Does  he  now  say,  ' '  The  per- 
secution must  be  turned  in  the  other  direction  ;  I  have  been  per- 
secuting the  wrong  parties  ;  now  I  find  it  is  you  Jews,  Pharisees, 
Sadducees,  that  must  be  manacled  and  fettered  and  put  an  end  to. 
I  change  my  policy,  and  I  persecute  you,  every  man  and  w^oman 
of  you  ".?  Nothing  of  the  kind.  Observe  this  miracle,  admire  it, 
and  let  it  stand  before  you  as  an  argument  invincible  and  com- 
plete. What  is  Saul's  tone  now  1  Standing  with  the  scrolls  open 
before  him,  he  reasons  and  mightily  contends  ;  he  becomes  a 
vehement  and  luminous  speaker  of  Christian  truth.  He  increases 
the  more  in  strength,  proving  that  this  is  the  Christ.  Has  all  the 
persecuting  temper  gone  .?  Yes,  every  whit  of  it.  Why  did  he  not 
prove  to  the  Christians,  in  his  unconverted  state,  that  they  were 
mistaken  t  When  he  was  not  a  converted  man,  he  never  thought 
of  "  proving"  anything.  He  had  a  rough,  short,  and  easy 
method  with  heretics — stab  them,  burn  them,  drown  them,  bind 
them  in  darkness,  and  let  them  die  of  hunger  !  Now  that  he  is  a 
converted  man,  he  becomes  a  reasoner.  He  stands  up  with  an 
argument  as  his  only  weapon  ;  persuasion  as  his  only  iron  ;  en- 
treaty and  supplication  as  the  only  chains  with  which  he  would 
bind  his  opponents.  What  has  happened }  Something  vital 
must  have  occurred.  Is  there  not  a  counterpart  of  all  this  in  our 
own  individual  experience,  and  in  civilized  history  }  Do  not  men 
always  begin  vulgarly,  and  end  with  refinement .?  Is  not  the  first 
rough  argument  a  thrust  with  cold  iron,  or  a  blow  with  clenched 
fist  ?  Does  not  history  teach  us  that  such  methods  are  utterly  un- 
availing in  the  extinction  or  the  final  arrest  of  erroneous  teaching  "> 
Christianity  is  a  moral  plea,  Christianity  burns  no  man.  Where- 
in professing  Christians  have  resorted  to  the  block  and  the  stake, 
and  to  evil  instruments,  they  have  proved  disloyal  to  their  IMaster, 
and  they  have  forgotten  the  spirit  of  his  cross.      Christianity  is  a 


THE  SOURCE    OF  TRUE  STRENGTH.  237 

plea,  a  persuasion,  an  appeal,  an  address  to  reason,  conscience, 
heart,  and  to  everything  that  makes  a  man  a  Man.  Christianity 
uses  no  force,  and  asks  for  no  force  to  be  used  on  its  behalf. 
You  cannot  make  men  pray  by  force  of  arms.  You  cannot  drive 
your  children  to  church,  except  in  the  narrowest  and  shallowest 
sense  of  the  term.  You  may  convince  men  of  their  error,  and 
lead  men  to  the  sanctuary,  and,  through  the  confidence  of  their 
reason  and  their  higher  sentiments,  you  may  conduct  them  to 
your  own  noblest  conclusions.  How  far  is  it  from  persecuting  to 
praying  ?  From  threatening  and  slaughter  to  proving  p  That 
distance  Christ  took  Saul,  who  only  meant  to  go  from  Jerusalem 
to  Damascus,  some  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles.  Christ  took 
him  a  longer  journey  ;  he  swept  him  round  the  whole  circle  of 
possibility.  He  made  him  accomplish  the  entire  journey  which  lies 
between  persecution  and  prayer,  slaughter  and  argument.  It  is 
thus  that  Jesus  Christ  makes  us  do  more  than  we  intended  to  do. 
He  meets  us  on  the  way  of  our  own  choice,  and  graciously  takes 
us  on  a  way  of  his  own. 

Look  at  the  third  contrast,  which  is  as  notable  as  the  other  two. 
In  the  opening  of  the  narrative  Saul  was  a  strong  man,  the  strong- 
est of  the  band  ;  the  chief,  without  whose  presence  the  band 
would  dissolve.  His  nostrils  are  dilated  with  anger  :  his  eye 
burns  with  a  fire  that  expresses  the  supreme  purpose  of  his  heart. 
Nothing  stands  between  him  and  the  accomplishment  of  his  pur- 
pose. The  caravan  road  from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus,  supposing 
that  he  took  that  road,  required  some  six  days  to  traverse  it.  Saul 
knew  not  the  lapse  of  time,  so  high-strung  was  his  energy,  and  so 
resolute  his  purpose.  And  in  this  same  narrative,  not  further  on 
than  the  eighth  verse,  we  read  of  the  great  persecutor  that  "  they 
led  him  by  the  hand."  What  has  happened  .?  We  thought  he 
would  have  gone  into  the  city  like  a  storm  ;  and  he  went  in  like  a 
blind  beggar  !  We  thought  he  would  have  been  met  at  the  city 
gate  as  the  great  destroyer  of  heresy  ;  and  he  was  led  by  the  hand 
like  a  helpless  cripple  !  Woe  unto  the  strength  that  is  not  heaven- 
born  I  Such  so-called  power  will  wither  away.  •  When  we  arc 
weak  then  are  we  strong.  Saul  will  one  day  teach  us  that  very 
doctrine.  Really  understood,  Saul  was  a  stronger  man  when  he 
was  being  led  by  the  hand  than  when  he  breathed  out  threatenings 


238  ACTS  IX.  1-22. 


and  slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord.  You  are  might- 
ier when  you  pray  than  when  you  persecute.  You  are  stronger 
men  when  you  prove  your  argument  than  Avhen  }'ou  seek  to  smite 
your  opponent.  Something  will  come  of  this.  Such  violences 
have  high  moral  issues. 

Saul  led  by  the  hand  ;  then  why  need  we  be  ashamed  of  the 
same  process  ?  Saul  began  feebly  ;  why  should  we  hesitate  to 
begin  our  Church  service  on  a  very  small  scale  ?  Saul  led  by  the 
hand  ;  then  who  will  despise  the  day  of  small  things  ?  Presently 
he  will  increase  in  strength,  the  right  strength,  the  power  that  has 
deep  roots  ;  not  the  power  of  transient  fury,  but  the  solid  and 
tranquil  strength  of  complete  repose.  "  Grow  in  grace,  and  in 
the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;"  and  remember  that  the 
mightiest  chief  under  Christ  that  ever  led  the  Christian  hosts  was 
conducted  by  friendly  and  compassionate  men  into  the  city  which 
he  intended  to  devastate. 

Turning  to  another  aspect  of  the  case,  we  see  two  or  three  most 
beautiful  and  pathetic  glimpses  of  Jesus  Christ  Himself.  He  as- 
cended, yet  he  said,  "  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  age."  There  we  find  him  leaving,  yet  not  leaving  ;  not  visi- 
ble, yet  watchful  ;  looking  upon  Saul  every  day,  and  looking  at 
the  same  time  upon  his  redeemed  Church  night  and  day,  the 
whole  year  round.  Events  are  not  happening  without  his 
knowledge  ;  the  story  of  all  the  ages  is  written  in  heaven.  He 
knows  your  persecuting  purpose  ;  he  understands  well  enough 
what  you  are  doing  to  interrupt  the  cause  of  truth  and  the  prog- 
ress of  Christian  knowledge.  Jesus  Christ  knows  all  your  antag- 
onistic plans,  thoughts,  purposes,  and  devices.  His  eye  is  upon 
you.  As  for  you  Christians,  he  knows  your  sufferings,  your  op- 
positions, your  daily  contentions,  your  painful  striving  ;  he  knows 
exactly  through  how  much  tribulation  you  are  moving  onward  to 
the  kingdom. 

Not  only  is  he  living  and  watchful,  but,  in  the  case  of  Saul 
himself,  Jesus  Christ  was  covipassionate.  Listen  to  the  words 
which  he  addressed  to  Saul  :  "  It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against 
the  pricks."  He  pitied  the  poor  ox  that  struck  its  limbs  against 
the  sharp  and  piercing  goads.  There  is  nothing  destructive  in 
this  criticism.     There  is  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  this  remark.     Yea, 


BLINDING   SPIRITUAL    VISION.  239 

this  expostulation  repeats  the  prayer  of  his  dying  breath,  and 
shows  him  to  be  "  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever."  He 
does  not  bind  Saul  with  his  own  chain  ;  he  throws  upon  him  the 
happy  spell  of  victorious  love. 

Not  only  is  he  living,  watchful,  and  compassionate,  he  is  con- 
sistcnt.  He  said  to  Ananias,  "  I  will  show  him  what  great  things 
he  must  suffer  for  my  name's  sake.  When  Jesus  called  his  disci- 
ples to  him,  and  ordained  them  to  go  out  into  the  world,  he  laid 
before  them  a  black  picture  ;  he  kept  back  nothing  of  the  dark- 
ness. He  told  his  disciples  that  they  would  be  persecuted,  drag- 
ged up  before  the  authorities  and  cruelly  treated  ;  and  now,  when 
he  comes  to  add  another  to  the  number,  he  repeats  the  ordination 
charge  which  he  addressed  to  the  first  band. 


All  these  things  were  seen  in  a  vision.  Say  some  of  you,  "  We 
have  no  visions  now.  Have  we  not  ?  How  can  we  }  We  may 
eat  and  drink  all  visions  away.  The  glutton  and  the  drunkard 
can  have  nothing  but  nightmare.  A  materialistic  age  can  only 
have  a  materialistic  religion.  If  men  will  satisfy  every  appetite,  in- 
dulge every  desire  to  satiety,  turn  the  day  into  night,  and  the 
night  into  a  long  revel,  they  cannot  wonder  if  the  vision  should 
have  departed  from  their  life.  We  may  grieve  the  Spirit,  we  may 
quench  the  Spirit ;  we  may  so  eat,  and  drink,  and  live  as  to  divest 
the  mind  of  its  wings,  and  becloud  the  whole  horizon  of  the  fancy. 
But  is  it  true  that  the  vision  has  ceased  ?  It  may  be  so  within  a 
narrow  sense,  but  not  in  its  true  spiritual  intent  and  thought. 
Even  now  we  speak  about  strong  im.pressions,  impulses  we  cannot 
account  for,  movements,  desires  of  the  mind  which  lie  beyond  our 
control.  Even  now  we  are  startled  by  unexpected  combinations 
of  events.  Even  now  we  have  a  mysterious  side  to  life,  as  well  as 
an  obvious  and  patent  side.  What  if  the  religious  mind  should 
see  in  such  realities  the  continued  Presence  and  the  continued 
Vision  which  gladdened  the  early  Church  ?  If  you  would  see  the 
spiritual,  you  must  keep  down  the  material.  If  you  would  have 
visions,  you  must  banish  the  basely  substantial.  If  you  would 
have  high  dreamings  and  noble  revelations,  you  must  mortify  the 
flesh. 


240  ACTS  IX.  1-22. 


See  from  this  conversion  how  true  it  is  that  Christianity  does 
not  merely  alter  a  man's  intellectual  views  or  modify  a  man's  moral 
prejudices.  Christianity  never  makes  a  little  alteration  in  a  man's 
thinking  and  action.  Christianity  makes  new  hearts,  new  creat- 
ures, and  not  new  plans  and  new  habits  only.  Other  reformers 
may  change  a  habit  now  and  again,  may  modify  a  prejudice,  at- 
temper a  purpose  with  some  benign  and  gracious  intent ;  but  this 
Redeemer,  who  gave  himself  the  Just  for  the  unjust,  who  bought 
with  the  blood  of  his  own  heart,  does  not  make  a  little  difference 
in  our  intellectual  attitude  and  our  moral  purpose.  He  wants  us 
to  be  born  again.  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ  Jesus  he  is  a  new 
creature  ;  old  things  have  passed  away,  and  all  things  have  be- 
come new. ' '  There  drop  from  his  eyes  "  as  it  were  scales, ' '  and, 
with  a  pure  heart,  he  sees  a  pure  God. 


XXVII. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  have  come  through  rugged  places  that  we  might 
enter  into  thy  house.  The  week  has  been  as  a  wilderness,  and  all  its 
days  have  been  stony  places,  yet  all  the  while  we  have  been  set  in  the 
direction  of  God's  house,  and  to-day  we  feel  its  holy  peace.  Give  us  rest 
in  thy  house,  thou  God  of  saints.  Here  may  we  know  the  mystery  of 
completeness,  which  is  the  mystery  of  peace.  Make  us  whole  in  Christ  ; 
complete  in  him  ;  wanting  in  nothing,  so  that  we  may  stand  before  thee 
perfect  men  in  Christ  Jesus.  Thou  knowest  us  altogether  ;  where  we  are 
strong,  and  where  we  are  weak,  the  door  which  the  devil  cannot  open, 
and  the  gate  through  which  he  comes  with  infinite  familiarity.  Our 
prayer  is  that  we  may  put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God.  The  helmet  and 
the  shield,  the  sword  and  the  girdle,  the  breast-plate  and  the  sandals,  so 
that  we  may  be  able  to  stand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all  to 
stand.  Thy  purpose  concerning  us  is  our  salvation,  complete  and  ever- 
lasting. May  we  be  co-workers  with  thee,  labourers  together  with  God. 
In  our  souls  may  thou  find  sweet  consent  to  thy  purposes  and  a  ready 
obedience  to  all  thy  will.  We  would  that  we  might  in  Christ  Jesus 
receive  our  sight.  We  are  blind  and  cannot  see  afar  off  by  reason  of  our 
sin.  Our  desire  is  that  as  it  were  scales  might  fall  from  our  eyes  that  we 
may  see  the  beauty  of  holiness  and  the  glory  of  thy  kingdom.  Charmed 
and  fascinated  by  this  beauty  we  shall  be  blind  to  all  other  attractions, 
and  our  life  shall  be  absorbed  in  the  worship  of  thy  Cross  and  Crown,  O 
Christ  of  God  !  We  walk  before  thee  because  of  thy  grace.  It  is  of  thy 
mercy  that  we  are  not  consumed.  We  live  in  thy  compassion.  Without 
thy  mercy  we  cannot  live.  Thy  tender  mercies  are  over  all  thy  works. 
Behold,  are  they  not  the  light  and  the  beauty  of  everything  ;  yea,  in  thy 
compassion  the  whole  creation  glistens  as  with  the  dew  of  the  morning. 
Reveal  thyself  to  us  every  day  ;  in  some  new  vision  of  glory,  or  with 
some  new  hint  of  beauty.  And  thus  draw  us  every  one  towards  thyself 
in  an  upward  line,  in  the  ascent  of  which  our  strength  shall  grow. 
Beautiful  is  the  life  baptized  of  heaven.  Sweet  the  service  inspired  by  thy 
love  and  comforted  by  thy  grace.  Lead  us  into  the  mystery  of  more 
faithful  homage,  and  in  the  rendering  of  our  worship  may  we  see  heaven 
opened. 

Thou  knowest  what  we  would  say  if  we  could.  Thou  understandest 
well  that  it  is  not  in  speech  to  tell  the  secret  of  the  heart.  We  bless  thee 
for  words,  yet  are  we  chafed  by  them.     For  through  them  we  cannot  tell 


J42  ACTS  IX.  32-43. 


what  we  want  to  say,  and  we  are  shocked  by  their  rudeness  when  they 
shape  themselves  in  articulate  prayers.  Read  the  heart,  search  the 
spirit.  Hold  thy  candle  over  the  deepest  abysses  of  our  nature,  and  hear 
each  when  he  says,  "  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things,  thou  knowest  that  I 
love  thee."  Regard  us  as  pastor  and  people,  heads  of  houses  and 
families,  men  engaged  in  merchandize  and  women  in  all  the  silent  hero- 
isms of  the  house,  and  the  Lord  send  his  blessing  upon  the  whole  com- 
pany like  an  impartial  rain.  May  every  soul  be  blessed,  may  morn  arise 
upon  every  life,  may  the  saddest  see  the  returning  angel  of  joy,  and  may 
the  weakest  know  that  the  Deliverer  is  near  at  hand.  Be  the  physician 
of  every  family,  the  visitor  from  heaven  of  every  household,  the  comforter 
of  all  disconsolateness,  and  speak  a  word  in  season  to  him  that  is  weary. 
Regard  the  land  in  which  we  live,  and  the  lands  from  which  we  come. 
Remember  the  whole  earth,  we  beseech  thee,  in  tender  compassion  and 
love.  Son  of  God,  come  forth  I  Prince  of  all  princes,  and  Saviour  of  all 
men,  delay  not,  but  come  to  the  world  for  which  thou  didst  die.  Even  so, 
Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly.     Amen. 

Acts  ix.  32-43. 

32.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  Peter  [from  this  point  to  chapter  xii.  18  the 
narrative  is  occupied  exclusively  with  the  personal  work  of  Peter]  passed 
throughout  all  quarters  [may  have  included  Galiiee],  he  came  down  also 
to  the  saints  which  dwelt  at  Lydda  [now  Ludd]. 

33.  And  there  he  found  a  certain  man  named  ^'Eneas,  which  had  kept 
his  bed  eight  years,  and  was  sick  of  the  palsy. 

34.  And  Peter  said  unto  him,  .^neas,  Jesus  Christ  maketh  thee  whole  : 
arise,  and  make  thy  bed.  [Do  fur  thvself  what  others  have  so  long  done 
for  thee.]     And  he  arose  immediately. 

35.  And  all  that  dwelt  at  Lydda  and  Saron  [a  district  rather  than  a 
town]  saw  him,  and  turned  to  the  Lord. 

36.  Now  there  was  at  Joppa  [famous  in  Greek  legends  as  the  spot 
where  Andromeda  had  been  bound  when  she  was  delivered  by  Perseus] 
a  Certain  disciple  [no  distinction  between  male  and  female]  named  Tabi- 
tha  [the  two  names  suggesting  points  of  connection  with  both  the  Hebrew 
and  the  Hellenistic  section  of  the  Church],  which  by  interpretation  is 
called  Dorcas  :  this  woman  was  full  of  good  works  [a  favorite  formula 
of  Luke,  meaning  "  given  up  to"]  and  alms  deeds  which  she  did. 

37.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days,  that  she  was  sick,  and  died  : 
whom  when  they  had  washed  they  laid  her  in  an  upper  chamber. 

38.  And  forasmuch  as  Lydda  was  nigh  to  Joppa  [nine  miles  off],  and 
the  disciples  had  heard  that  Peter  was  there,  they  sent  unto  him  two  men, 
desiring  him  that  he  would  not  delay  to  come  to  them. 

39.  Then  [and]  Peter  arose  and  went  with  them.  When  he  was  come, 
they  brought  him  into  the  upper  chamber  :  and  all  the  widows  stood  by 
him  weeping,  and  sTiewing  the  coats  and  garments  ["  the  coats  were   the 


OBSCURE    WORKERS.  243 


close-fiiting  tunics,  worn  next  to  the  body,  the  garments  the  looser  outer 
cloaks  that  were  worn  over  them"]  which  Dorcas  made,  while  she  was 
with  them. 
/  40.  But  Peter  put  them  all  forth  [Matt.  ix.  23.  24],  and  kneeled  down, 
and  prayed  ;  and  turning  him  to  the  body  said.  Tabitha,  arise.  And 
she  opened  her  eyes  :  and  when  she  saw  Peter,  she  sat  up. 

41.  And   he  gave  her  his  hand,  and  lifted   her  up,  and  when  he  had 
called  the  saints  and  widows,  presented  her  alive. 

42.  And  it  was  known  throughout  all  Joppa  ;  and  many  believed  in  the 
Lord. 

43.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  he  tarried  many  days  in  Joppa  with  one 
Simon  a  tanner. 


SUMMARIZED  SERVICE. 

HOW  did  there  happen   to  be  any  saints  at  Lydda  ?     That 
place  has  not  come  under  our  attention  in  our  perusal  of 
these  apostolic  annals.      There  are  saints  in  unexpected   places. 
Yet,  perhaps,   not  so  unexpected  if  we  had  read   attentively  the 
portions  which  have  already  engaged  our  interest.      In  the  last 
verse  of  the  preceding  chapter  we  read,  "  But  Philip  was  found  at 
Azotus  ;  and  passing  through  he  preached  in  all  the  cities  till  he 
came  to  Caesarea."     Lydda  lay  between  Azotus  and  C^sarea,  and 
Philip  no  doubt  had  called    there   and  preached   the  word  and 
founded  a  Christian  Society.      How  summarily  our  work  is  occa- 
sionally mentioned.     We  put  a  whole  history  into  a  single  verse. 
In  one  broken  sentence  we  sum  up  a  life-time  !     There  is  a  cruel 
condensation  which  often  does  not  give  justice  to  those  who  are  its 
subjects.      How  easily  and  fluently  we    read,    "But  Philip  was 
found  at  Azotus  ;  and  passing  through  he  preached  in  all  the  cities 
till  he  came  to  C^sarea. ' '     These  are  epitomes  which  God  himself 
must  break  up  into  detail.     And  thus  in  many  a  hurried  phiase 
we  shall  find  ser\^ice  and  suffering,  trial  and  triumph,  which  only 
God  can  recognise.     We   hear    it  said   of  the  minister  that  he 
"  called  at  the  house  and  offered  prayer."     And  probably  the  an- 
nouncement is  accompanied  by  the  annotation  that  he  was  there 
but  a  few  minutes.      By  the  clock  it  was  but  a  handful  of  minutes 
the  man  was  there,  but  into  those  minutes  he  condensed  the  ex- 
perience and  the  pathos  of  a  li/e-time,  and  in  that  one  brief  prayer 
he  spared  not  the  blood  of  his  very  heart.     Beware  of  a  ruthless 
condensation.     Suspect  any  epitome  which  counts  but  as  small 


244  ACTS  IX.  32-43. 


dust  the  details  which  makes  up  the  energetic  semce  and  the  pa- 
tient suffering  of  the  Christian  toiler. 

Peter  found  his  way  to  the  saints.  By  what  magnetism  .'  Do 
we  not  all  find  out  our  other  selves  in  every  city  to  which  we  go .? 
When  the  surveyor  would  find  out  whether  there  are  metallic  strata 
in  the  district  which  he  surveys,  he  takes  in  his  right  hand  the  en- 
closed magnet,  and  watching  that  magnet  he  sees  as  he  carries  it 
over  the  surface  of  the  ground  how  it  dips,  and  says  in  the  dip- 
ping, "  Here  you  will  find  what  you  are  in  quest  of."  He  does 
not  need  to  rip  up  the  sod,  and  to  dig  far  down.  The  magnet 
knows  where  the  metal  is,  and  instantly  points  to  the  secret  place. 
It  is  so  in  going  through  the  city.  One  sentence  will  tell  you 
what  company  you  are  in.  A  look  will  warn  you  from  that  local- 
ity, as  from  a  plague-swept  district.  A  tone  will  open  up  com- 
munication with  the  soul,  and  a  sigh  may  reveal  the  masonry  of 
the  heart.  Living  constantly  in  Christian  society  we  may  become 
unhappily  too  familiar  with  its  advantages.  Could  we  live  for  a 
time  with  those  who  do  not  know  Christ,  who  therefore  do  not 
worship  Christ,  or  honour  him  as  the  standard  of  morals  and  the 
ultimate  appeal,  how  we  should  love  even  the  most  imperfect 
Christian  we  have  ever  known  !  "  He  that  is  least  in  the  king- 
dom of  God  ' '  is  greater  than  the  greatest  outside  that  sacred  circle. 
We  pine  for  our  own,  we  like  to  hear  our  own  language  ;  there  is 
music  in  the  familiar  tongue.  We  fall  with  easy  grace  and 
second  naturalness  into  the  ways  of  the  company  of  M'hich  we  form 
a  part.  Christian  brotherhood  is  the  salvation  of  society.  Inside 
your  social  constitutions  you  find  the  saving  factor,  the  souls  that 
believe,  the  hearts  that  pray,  the  lives  that  live  in  sacrifice.  It 
would  do  some  of  us  good  in  the  very  soul  if  we  could  be  shut  up 
with  Bedouins  and  savages  for  a  few  days.  How  we  should  then 
yearn  for  the  Old  Church,  the  customary  society,  the  most  defec- 
tive Christian  we  ever  knew  !  We  have  become  dainty  in  our  ap- 
petites because  we  have  lived  upon  luxuries  up  to  the  point  of 
satiety. 

No  names  arc  given  in  verse  32.  There  is  something  better  than 
a  name.  There  is  character.  There  you  find  no  personal  re- 
nown, no  individuality  running  up  into  a  flashing  pinnacle  and 
throwing  its  superior  glory  over  the  commonplace  in  the  midst  of 
which  it  stands,   but  you  find  a  high    level  of  character,  a  solid 


SUBORDINATE    WORK  FOR    CHRIST.  245 

quantity  of  moral  and  spiritual  being,  and  supreme  and  effective 
reality.  It  is  towards  that  estate  we  should  constantly  be  moving, 
to  the  great  republic  of  common  holiness. 

When  Peter  was  in  I-ydda  he  found  the  man  who  is  to  be 
found  in  every  city.  Locally  called  ^neas,  but  everywhere  called 
the  sick  man.  Peter  ' '  found  a  certain  man  named  ^neas,  which 
had  kept  his  bed  eight  years,  and  was  sick  of  the  palsy.  That 
man  is  in  every  city  and  is  never  healed,  except  in  the  individual 
instance.  The  genus  remains  unhealed — a  continual  appeal  to 
the  Petrine  spirit,  the  apostolic  love,  the  redeemed  compassion  of 
the  Church.  Whom  we  cannot  heal  we  may  at  least  carry  to  the 
gate  of  the  temple.  We  have  read  of  the  lame  man  who  was  car- 
ried daily.  These  are  the  secondary  services  of  life.  We  are  not 
all  in  the  front  rank  of  the  ministry,  it  is  not  given  to  every  one  of 
us  to  speak  miracles,  but  to  every  one  is  given  the  sweet  grace  of 
helpfulness  in  this  matter  of  carrying  those  we  cannot  heal. 
Because  we  cannot  do  the  first  and  supreme  class  of  work,  it  does 
not  follow  that  we  are  to  sit  idle  all  the  day.  You  can  bring  to 
.^neas  the  Christian  friend,  the  Christian  suppliant,  the  Christian 
sympathizer.  Aye,  there  is  no  grief  but  one  that  cannot  be  miti- 
gated by  Christian  love.  And  even  that  surely  may  be  in  the  dis- 
tance touched  with  somewhat  of  redemptiveness,  of  solicitude  and 
pity,  even  insanity  itself  may  have  its  bed  made  in  its  affliction. 
We  hear  nothing  of  Peter's  doings  at  Lydda  except  this  miracle  ; 
but  as  Philip  had  done  much  at  Lydda  without  any  record  having 
been  made  of  it,  so  Peter  may  have  done  much  beside  this  mira- 
cle. The  miracle  itself  was  a  sermon.  For  "all  that  dwelt  at 
Lydda  and  Saron  saw  him,  and  turned  to  the  Lord. 

Now  we  come  to  another  city.  In  Joppa  there  dwelt  a  woman 
who  "was  full  of  good  works  and  alms  deeds  which  she  did," 
and  she  died!  How  was  that .?  There  are  some  people  whom  we 
almost  wish  would  die,  and  die  they  will  not ;  nights  of  frost  cannot 
freeze  them,  rivers  cannot  drown  them,  they  have  a  kind  of  earthly 
immortality  in  their  evil  doing  and  in  their  pestilent  mischief,  and 
others  whom  we  want  to  live  always  wither  and  die.  They  die  in 
the  act  of  giving  bread  to  the  hungry.  Dorcas  may  have  died 
with  her  industrious  needle  in  her  fingers — the  garment  for  the 
poor  child  half  done  !  There  seems  to  be  such  a  waste  of  nobility 
and  service  in  this  mysterious  Providence.     We  may  be  wrong  in 


246  ACTS  JX.  32-43. 


that  outlook  as  we  are  in  others.  Why  should  not  the  good  ship 
land  .?  Why  should  we  shed  tears  when  the  noble  life-vessel 
touches  the  shore  .?  Why  not  throw  up  our  arms  and  exclaim, 
"  Hallelujah,  glory  be  to  God  !"  So  foolish  are  we  and  igno- 
rant. Yet  not  unnaturally  so.  Who  cannot  recall  people  whom 
we  wish  to  have  with  us  every  day  .?  Without  whom  the  house  is 
no  home,  apart  from  whom  life  is  only  a  daily  tarrying  for  death. 
It  is  so  that  God  trains  us,  prunes  us,  and  prepares  us  for  the 
wider  revelation  and  the  higher  service.  Peter  was  sent  for.  He 
came  the  nine  miles  to  see  what  could  be  done.  How  natural 
was  this.  Who  does  not  send  for  the  strong  brolher  P  To  hear 
that  a  strong  man  is  not  far  away  is  to  hear  a  kind  of  angel  singing 
in  the  skies  again,  saying,  "  Peace  on  earth  and  good  will  toward 
men."  There  are  times  when  the  strong  man  is  sent  for,  and 
these  are  times  of  darkness,  trouble,  personal,  and  social  despair. 
But  there  is  always  a  strong  man  to  send  for.  Always  some  other 
man  is  stronger  than  you  are,  and  in  Christ  his  strength  belongs 
to  you.  In  that  sense  we  must  have  "  all  things  common,"  and 
none  must  say  that  aught  that  he  has  belongs  to  himself  alone. 
It  is  in  this  spirit  of  Christian  communism  that  we  must  keep 
Society  from  putrefaction  and  souls  from  sudden  despair.  There 
is  a  hint  of  the  One  who  "  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother."  When 
your  house  is  very  dark,  send  for  Jesus.  He  can  walk  upon  the 
darkness  as  upon  solid  rocks.  When  your  life  gives  way  in  sud- 
den weakness,  or  in  painful  fear,  send  in  double  prayer  for  Jesus. 
He  can  make  "  a  dying  bed  feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are."  But 
you  are  not  the  people  to  wait  for  such  crises  in  which  to  invite 
the  Lord's  anointed  to  your  house.  Send  for  him  today,  when 
the  table  is  laden  with  flowers  and  every  corner  of  the  dwelling  is 
ablaze  with  His  own  sunlight.  Beautiful  was  the  scene  in  that 
house  at  Joppa.  "  When  he  was  come  they  brought  him  into  the 
upper  chamber  :  and  all  the  widows  stood  by  him  weeping,  and 
showing  the  coats  and  garments  which  Dorcas  made,  while  she 
was  with  them."  How  did  these  widozvs  come  to  be  thus  asso- 
ciated ?  Who  took  any  interest  in  t/ict'r  welfare  .-*  If  you  read 
again  the  sixth  chapter  of  this  book  you  will  find  that  special  ar- 
rangements were  made  for  the  ministration  of  the  common  stock 
for  the  needy  widows  of  the  Hebrews  and  the  Grecians,  and  you 


POWER    OF  PRAYER.  247 

will  find  amongst  the  seven  men  appointed  to  administer  that  fund 
the  name  of  Philip.  So  this  man  lives  in  his  works.  At  Lydda 
he  founded  a  Christian  Society,  at  Joppa  he  organized  the  widows 
into  a  society  that  should  receive  help  from  those  who  were  able  to 
give  it.  Philip  does  not  appear  before  us  in  name,  but  he  leaves 
behind  him  memorials  of  his  wisdom  and  his  beneficence. 

How  is  it  that  we  like  the  coats  and  the  garments  even  better 
when  the  seamstress  is  dead  than  we  did  when  she  was  actually 
making  them  ?  That  is  a  tender  mystery  in  life.  It  is  a  fact 
everywhere.  The  little  child's  little  toy  becomes  infinitely  pre- 
cious when  the  tiny  player  can  no  longer  handle  it.  And  the  two 
little  shoes  are  the  most  precious  property  in  the  house  when  the 
little  feet  that  wore  them  are  set  away  in  God's  acre.  Let  us  love 
one  another  whilst  we  live  !  Not  a  word  do  I  say  against  the  sen- 
timent, which  enlarges  the  actions  of  the  dead,  but  I  would  speak 
for  a  kind  word  on  behalf  of  those  who  are  sitting  next  you  and 
making  your  own  house  glad  by  their  deft  fingers  and  their  loving 
hearts. 

Now  we  come  to  the  first  miracle  of  the  kind  to  which  apostolic 
strength  was  summoned.  Up  to  this  time  the  Apostles  had  been 
healing  ankle-bones,  healing  the  palsy  and  divers  diseases,  and 
casting  out  unclean  spirits,  but  now  a  mightier  tyrant  looks  them 
in  the  face.  For  the  first  time  must  the  Apostles  grapple  without 
the  visible  Christ  with  actual  DEATH.  We  may  well  pause  here 
in  the  excitement  of  a  great  anxiety.  Memory  rushes  upon  the 
heart  like  a  gracious  flood  as  we  read  these  words,  "  but  Peter 
put  them  all  forth."  That  was  what  Christ  did  !  There  is  the 
true  imitation  of  the  Lord.  Some  battles  may  be  fought  in 
public,  others  have  to  be  fought  in  solitude,  so  ' '  Peter  put  them  all 
forth."  "  Thou  when  thou  prayest  enter  into  thy  closet,  and 
when  thou  hast  shut  the  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in 
secret,  and  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret,  shall  reward  thee  openly." 
So  "  Peter  put  them  all  forth,"  and  kneeled  down  and  prayed. 
Have  you  ever  prayed  in  the  death  chamber  with  none  there  but 
the  dead  friend  }  How  eloquent  has  been  your  dumbness,  how 
mighty  a  rhetoric  slumber  in  your  blinding  tears  !  When  you 
were  weak  then  were  you  strong.  "  And," — oh,  conjunctive  that 
makes  one  tremble — "  turning  to  the  body,"  now  is  the  critical 


248  ACTS  IX.  32-43. 


moment,  "said,  Tabitha,  arise."  "And  she  opened  her  eyes, 
and  when  she  saw  Peter  she  sat  up."  Let  your  miracles  come 
through  your  prayers.  Let  your  prayers  always  end  in  the  amen 
of  a  miracle.  What  is  the  use  of  your  solitude  and  your  prayer, 
your  long,  intense,  mighty  communion  with  God,  if  when  you 
turn  round  you  cannot  work  some  miracle  of  love  ? 


XXVIII. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  thou  hast  shewn  us  great  and  marvellous  things  in 
thy  Word  to-day.  We  have  read  a  noble  Psalm,  and  have  heard  of  One 
who  shall  come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass  and  as  showeis  that 
water  the  earth.  We  have  heard  of  One  coming  who  shall  save  the  poor 
and  the  needy,  and  be  the  helper  of  him  that  hath  no  friend.  Our  hearts 
have  risen  to  this  sublime  music,  and  our  expectation  has  heightened  as 
we  have  looked  for  him  in  whom  all  nations  shall  be  blessed.  Behold, 
he  is  amongst  us,  even  now.  We  have  seen  the  prints  of  the  nails  in  his 
hands,  and  we  have  thrust  our  hands  into  his  side.  We  know  now  of 
whom  the  Psalmist  spake  ;  surely  not  of  his  own  son,  but  of  a  greater 
still,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Solomon  of  the  Universe,  the  Wisdom  Divine. 
He  said  he  would  give  us  rest.  He  had  the  tongue  of  the  learned  that 
could  speak  a  word  in  season  to  him  that  was  weary.  He  bore  our  sins 
and  carried  them  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree.  He  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions.  From  his  lips  we  heard  the  Beatitudes,  than  which  there 
are  no  tenderer  words  in  all  thy  heaven.  He  gave  himself  for  us,  the 
just  for  the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  us  unto  God.  We  would  run  unto 
him.  We  would  outstretch  our  arms  to  him  in  token  of  waiting,  and 
needing,  and  loving.  May  we  this  day  find  him  as  we  have  never  found 
him  before  ;  with  some  new  beauty  shining  on  his  countenance,  and  some 
new  tone  of  music  sounding  and  thrilling  in  his  voice.  We  have  come  to 
seek  Jesus,  assured  that  we  shall  find  him.  We  love  him  because  he  first 
loved  us.  We  do  not  seek  him,  for  he  has  himself  come  to  seek  and  to 
save  the  lost.  We  are  lost.  We  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way. 
We  have  run  greedily  in  paths  forbidden,  and  have  done  the  evil  work 
with  both  hands  earnestly,  but  Jesus  Christ  has  come  after  us.  He  will 
find  us,  and  the  Universe  for  which  he  died  shall  live  for  him.  We  will 
think  of  thy  mercy  till  our  hearts  glow  with  fire  that  cannot  consume 
them.  Thy  compassions  are  new  every  morning.  As  for  thy  tears  of 
pity,  they  are  more  than  the  dews  of  the  night.  Thy  heart  goeth  out  after 
us  ;  through  all  cloud,  and  mist,  and  darkness  of  gloom.  Thou  dost  love 
us  and  live  for  us,  and  continually  send  thine  angels  after  us.  What  is 
man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  Is  not  his  breath  in  his  nostrils  ?  and 
is  he  not  blown  away  by  the  scornful  wind?  Doth  he  not  live  to  die? 
We  bless  thee  for  all  Christian  hope.  We  thank  thee  for  the  light  within 
the  light,  the  glory  hidden  behind  the  dawn.  Thou  hast  yet  more  light 
to  shed  upon  our  life,  and  thou  wilt  give  it  beam  by  beam  as  our  poor 


2SO  ACTS  X. 


vision  may  be  able  to  receive  it.  Oh,  give  us  light  !  Lord,  spare  not  the 
gift  of  light  !  Lord,  help  us  to  walk  in  the  light  !  Enable  us  at  all  times 
to  be  as  the  children  of  the  day,  and  may  thy  glory  burn  in  us  and  shine 
forth  from  us  upon  all  by  whom  we  are  encircled. 

Thou  knowest  our  heart's  great  hunger.  The  mystery  of  our  spirit  is 
an  open  rei^elation  to  thine  eyes.  How  poor  we  are,  frail,  and  faint,  and 
naturally  infirm.  There  is  no  strength  in  us.  Help  us,  therefore,  know- 
ing our  weakness,  to  abide  in  Christ,  and  to  seek  in  him  that  which  we 
have  not  in  ourselves. 

We  lovingly  commend  one  another  to  thy  blessing.  Hear  the  strong 
praying  for  the  weak.  Listen  to  those  who  form  an  altar  of  light,  pray 
for  those  who  are  wandering  in  great  darkness.  Hear  the  mother's 
prayer  for  the  castaway  child.  See  the  father's  dumb  entreaty  written 
upon  every  line  of  his  face  as  he  thinks  of  one  for  whom  he  dares  no 
longer  pray.  The  Lord  hear  the  praises  of  the  glad,  and  the  sighing  of 
those  who  are  ill  at  ease.  As  for  the  little  children,  take  them  up  in  thine 
arms,  and  one  embrace  of  thine  shall  be  the  benediction  of  a  life-time. 
Dry  the  tears,  no  other  hand  can  touch.  Lead  the  blind  by  a  way  that 
they  know  not,  with  great  comforlings  from  heaven  ;  consolation  upon 
consolation,  like  wave  upon  wave  ;  cause  us  to  forget  our  sorrows  and 
our  daily  grief. 

Thy  Kingdom  come,  O  Christ  !  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is 
done  in  heaven,  thou  God  and  Father  of  us  all  !     Amen. 

Acts  X. 

1.  There  was  a  certain  man  in  Cresarea  [the  usual  residence  of  the 
Roman  Procurator,  and  consequently  garrisoned  by  Roman  troops]  called 
Cornelius,  a  centurion  [commanding  the  sixtieth  part  of  a  legion]  of  the 
band  called  the  Italian  band. 

2.  A  devout  man,  and  one  that  feared  God  with  all  his  house,  which 
gave  much  alms  to  the  people  [to  the  Jews  of  Ca^sarea,  as  distinct  from 
the  Gentiles],  and  prayed  to  God  alway. 

3.  He  saw  in  a  vision  evidently  [the  adverb  here  is  most  important]  about 
the  ninth  hour  [when  the  evening  sacrifice  was  offered  in  the  temple]  of 
the  day  an  angel  of  God  coming  in  to  him,  and  saying  unto  him,  Corne- 
lius. 

4.  And  when  he  looked  on  him  he  was  afraid,  and  said,  What  is  it, 
Lord  ?  And  he  said  unto  him,  Thy  prayers  and  thine  alms  are  come  up 
for  a  memorial  [emphatically  a  sacrificial  and  liturgical  word]  before 
God. 

5.  And  now  send  men  to  Joppa  [about  thirty  miles  off],  and  call  for 
one  Simon,  whose  surname  is  Peter  : 

6.  He  lodgeth  with  one  Simon  a  tanner,  whose  house  is  by  the  sea 
side  :  he  shall  tell  thee  what  thou  oughtest  to  do. 

7.  And  when   th«  angel  which  spake  unto  Cornelius  was  departed,  he 


ANNOTATED    TEXT.  251 

called  two  of  his  household  servants,  and  a  devout  soldier  of  them  that 
waited  on  him  continually  ; 

8.  And  when  he  had  declared  all  these  things  unto  them,  he  sent  them 
to  Joppa. 

9.  On  the  morrow,  as  they  went  on  their  journey,  and  drew  nigh  unto 
the  city,  Peter  went  up  upon  the  housetop  [the  house  of  the  tanner  was 
an  upper  room]  to  pray  about  the  sixth  hour  : 

10.  And  he  became  very  hungry,  and  would  have  eaten  :  but  while  they 
made  ready,  he  fell  into  a  trance  [an  ecstasy]. 

11.  And  saw  heaven  opened,  and  a  certain  vessel  descending  unto 
him,  as  it  had  been  a  great  sheet  knit  at  the  four  corners  [bound  by  four 
ends],  and  let  down  to  the  earth  : 

12.  Wherein  were  all  manner  of  fourfooted  beasts  of  the  earth,  and 
wild  beasts,  and  creeping  things,  and  fowls  of  the  air. 

13.  And  there  came  a  voice  to  him.  Rise,  Peter  ;  kill,  and  eat. 

14.  But  Peter  said.  Not  so,  Lord  [a  resistance  characteristic  of  Peter 
— Luke  xvi.  32]  ;  for  I  have  never  eaten  anything  that  is  common  [in  the 
sense  of  defiled]  or  unclean. 

15.  And  the  voice  spake  unto  him  again  the  second  time.  What  God 
hath  cleansed,  that  call  not  thou  common. 

16.  This  was  done  thrice  [the  mystic  token  of  a  complete  ratification]  : 
and  the  vessel  was  received  up  again  into  heaven. 

17.  Now  while  Peter  doubted  [was  much  perplexed]  in  himself  what 
this  vision  which  he  had  seen  should  mean,  behold,  the  men  which  were 
sent  from  Cornelius  had  made  enquiry  for  Simon's  house,  and  stood 
before  the  gate  [porch]. 

18.  And  called,  and  asked  whether  Simon,  which  was  surnamed  Peter, 
were  lodged  there. 

19.  [Now.  The  original  has  this  conjunction.]  While  Peter  thought 
on  the  vision,  the  Spirit  said  unto  him,  Behold,  three  men  seek 
thee. 

20.  Arise,  therefore,  and  get  thee  down,  and  go  with  them,  doubting 
nothing  :  for  I  have  sent  them. 

21.  Then  [and]  Peter  went  down  to  the  men  which  were  sent  unto  him 
from  Cornelius  ;  and  said,  Behold,  I  am  he  whom  ye  seek  :  what  is  the 
cause  wherefore  ye  are  come  ?  [The  last  seven  words  are  not  in  the 
oldest  Greek  texts.] 

20.  And  they  said,  Cornelius  the  centurion,  a  just  man,  and  one  that 
feareth  God,  and  of  good  report  among  all  the  nation  of  the  Jews,  was 
warned  from  God  [there  is  no  Greek  for  "  from  God,"  but  the  verb  is  con- 
stantly used  of  messages  from  above]  by  an  holy  angel  to  send  for  thee 
into  his  house,  and  to  hear  words  of  thee. 

23.  Then  called  he  them  in,  and  lodged  them.  And  on  the  morrow 
Peter  went  away  with  them,  and  certain  brethren  [six  in  number]  from 
Joppa  accompanied  him. 

24.  And  the  morrow  after  they  entered  into  Cccsarea.     [Their  road  lay 


252  ACTS  X. 


all  the  way  along  the  coast.]     And  Cornelius  waited  for  them,  and  had 
called  together  his  kinsmen  and  near  friends. 

25.  And  as  Peter  was  coming  in  [that  is,  before  he  entered],  Cornelius 
met  him,  and  fell  down  at  his  feet,  and  worshipped  him  [the  extremest 
form  of  eastern  homage]. 

26.  But  Peter  took  him  up,  saying.  Stand  up  :   I  myself  also  am  a  man. 

27.  And  as  he  talked  with  him  [implying  a  conversation  of  some 
length],  he  went  in  [so  that  the  previous  part  of  the  interview  had  been 
without],  and  found  many  that  were  come  together. 

28.  And  he  said  unto  them.  Ye  know  how  that  it  is  an  unlawful  thing 
[from  the  standpoint  of  traditional  pharisaism]  for  a  man  that  is  a  Jew 
to  keep  company  [to  join  himself],  or  come  unto  one  of  another  nation  ; 
but  God  hath  shewed  me  that  I  should  not  call  any  man  common  or 
unclean. 

29.  Therefore  came  I  unto  you  without  gainsaying,  as  soon  as  I  was 
sent  for  ;  I  ask  therefore  for  what  intent  ye  have  sent  for  me  ? 

30.  And  Cornelius  said.  Four  days  ago  I  was  fasting  until  this  hour  ; 
and  at  the  ninth  hour  I  prayed  in  my  house,  and,  behold,  a  man  stood 
before  me  in  bright  clothing  [Rev.  xv.  6]. 

31.  And  said,  Cornelius,  thy  prayer  is  heard,  and  thine  alms  are  had 
for  remembrance  in  the  sight  of  God. 

32.  Send  therefore  to  Joppa,  and  call  hither  Simon,  whose  surname  is 
Peter  ;  he  is  lodged  in  the  house  of  one  Simon  a  tanner  by  the  sea  side  : 
who,  when  he  cometh,  shall  speak  unto  thee  [those  words  are  not  in  the 
oldest  manuscript]. 

33.  Immediately  therefore  I  sent  to  thee  :  and  thou  hast  well  done 
that  thou  art  come.  Now  therefore  are  we  all  here  present  before  God, 
to  hear  [in  this  word  there  is  implied  the  intention  to  obey\  all  things 
that  are  commanded  thee  of  God. 

34.  Then  Peter  opened  his  mouth,  and  said,  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  [I 
am  fully  convinced]  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons  : 

35.  But  in  every  nation  he  that  fearelh  Him,  and  worketh  righteous- 
ness, is  accepted  with  him  [acceptable  unto  him]. 

36.  The  word  which  God  sent  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  preaching 
peace  [Isaiah  lii.  7]  by  Jesus  Christ :  (He  is  Lord  of  all)  : 

37.  That  word,  I  say,  ye  know,  which  was  published  throughout  all 
Judaea,  and  began  from  Galilee  [where  Christ's  ministerial  life  com- 
menced] after  the  baptism  which  John  preached  : 

38.  How  God  anointed  Jesus  of  Nazareth  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
with  power  :  who  went  about  doing  good,  and  healing  all  that  were 
oppressed  of  the  devil  ;  for  God  was  with  him. 

39.  And  we  [a  form  of  speech  which  has  the  force  of  emphatic  addition] 
are  witfiesses  of  all  things  which  he  did  both  in  the  land  of  the  Jews,  and 
in  Jerusalem  ;  whom  they  slew  and  hanged  on  a  tree  : 

40.  Him  God  raised  up  the  third  day,  and  shewed  him  openly  [gave 
him  to  be  manifest^  ; 


DRAMATIC  CHAPTERS.  253 

41.  Not  to  all  the  people,  but  unto  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God, 
even  to  us,  who  did  eat  and  drink  with  him  after  he  rose  from  the  dead. 

42.  And  he  commanded  us  to  preach  unto  the  people,  and  to  testify- 
that  it  is  he  which  was  ordained  of  God  to  be  the  Judge  of  quick  and 
dead. 

43.  To  him  give  all  the  prophets  witness  [He  is  not  an  invented  Christ], 
that  through  his  name  whosoever  believeth  in  him  shall  receive  remission 
of  sins. 

44.  While  Peter  yet  spake  these  words,  the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  all  them 
which  heard  the  word. 

45.  And  they  of  the  circumcision  [the  six  Jewish  Christians  mentioned, 
xi.  12]  which  believed  were  astonished,  as  many  as  came  with  Peter, 
because  that  on  the  Gentiles  also  was  poured  out  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

46.  For  they  heard  them  spealc  with  tongues,  and  magnify  God.  Then 
answered  Peter, 

47.  Can  any  man  forbid  water,  that  these  should  not  be  baptized,  which 
have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  we  ? 

48.  And  he  commanded  them  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
Then  prayed  they  him  to  tarry  certain  days. 

THE   CONVERSION  OF  THE  GENTILES. 

YOU  have  noticed  no  doubt  how  many  dramatic  chapters 
there  are  in  the  sacred  record.  There  are  three  that  stand 
out  with  special  prominence,  and  to  my  mind,  singular  signifi- 
cance. Take,  for  example,  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  What 
movement,  what  continual  and  growing  excitement !  How  worlds 
are  made,  and  light  is  parted,  and  arrangements  are  completed  as 
if  some  stupendous  event  were  about  to  transpire  !  There  is  no 
chapter  in  the  Scriptures  more  intensely  dramatic  than  the  very 
first  chapter  in  the  Bible.  There  is  no  rest  in  it.  It  is  from  end 
to  end  all  palpitation,  movement,  expectancy,  and  high  color. 
Something  is  going  to  happen  !  The  secret  is  revealed  in  these 
words,  and  God  said,  "  Let  us  make  MAN."  Thus  one  creation 
prepares  for  another,  and  even  necessitates  another,  because  it 
would  without  that  other  be  incomplete  and  self-dissatisfied. 
Take,  again,  the  first  chapter  in  the  Gospel  of  Matthew.  There 
you  have  the  same  chapter  repeated  under  more  human  and  his- 
toric conditions.  The  first  chapter  of  Matthew  is  the  first  chapter 
of  Genesis  turned  into  human  history.  There  again  you  have 
that  movement,  urgency,  and  great  rapidity.     Things  are  happen- 


254  ACTS  X. 


ing  every  moment.  Surely  we  shall  hear  upon  the  door  a  hand, 
the  very  knocking  of  which  may  imply  that  the  KING  is  not  far 
off.  The  reading  of  the  genealogical  record  vieatis  something. 
The  secret  is  revealed  in  the  statement  that  JESUS  was  born  to 
save  His  people  from  their  sins.  But  notice  how  intensely  dra- 
malic  both  the  chapters  are,  and  how  as  you  read  both  you  feel 
that  you  are  being /r<^arf</ for  something  that  is  ahead,  and  if  you 
finished  your  reading  one  verse  too  soon  you  would  feel  as  if  the 
chapter  were  a  broken  column  or  an  incomplete  anthem.  The 
heait  would  say,  What  is  the  rest  i  What  more  ?  This  cannot 
be  all.  But  when  the  Matt  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  stands 
up,  we  say,  "  This  is  the  explanation  !"  And  when  in  the  first 
chapter  of  Matthew  One  is  called  EMMANUEL,  heaven  has 
kissed  earth  in  token  of  reconciliation  and  blessing  yet  to  come. 
The  third  chapter,  which  is  in  worthy  succession,  is  the  tenth 
chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  What  movement,  what 
dreaming  and  visioning  and  singular  combination  of  events  ! 
What  novelty  of  thought,  what  audacity  of  progress  !  What  is  the 
meaning  of  it  all  ?  Having  read  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  I  felt 
that  something  was  going  to  happen,  and  the  first  chapter  of  IMat- 
thew,  that  a  great  event  was  going  to  be  ushered  into  history  ;  and 
now  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  the  Acts  I  feel  that  all  these  visions 
and  trances  must  lead  to  something.  What  is  it .?  The  secret  is 
revealed  in  these  words — worthy  to  be  written  with  a  sunbeam  on 
heaven's  most  cloudless  blue  ! — "  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons, 
but  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him  and  worketh  righteous- 
ness is  accepted  of  Him."  In  all  the  three  dramatic  chapters, 
therefore,  I  find  a  result  which  explains  the  process  and  satisfies 
the  imagination. 

What  unconscious  preparations  are  proceeding  in  life  !  \\'e  can- 
not tell  what  we  do.  No  occasion  ends  in  itself  as  a  separate  and 
independent  event.  We  know  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth, 
but  to-morrow  will  certainly  bring  forth  the  seed  of  to-day. 
"  What  I  say  unto  one,"  said  Christ,  *'  I  say  unto  all,  watch." 
Always  know  that  you  are  being  prepared,  for  some  Divine  issue. 
Your  coming  to  church  to-day  may  be  the  making  of  you  !  The 
introduction  to  a  friend  this  morning  may  change  every  aspect  of 
your  coming  liistory  !  The  grave  you  dug  but  yesterday  may  be 
the  altar  at  which  your  first  heart-prayer  was  uttered  !     How  won- 


ONE  SIMON  A    TANNER. 


255 


drously  Simon  Peter  was  prepared  for  this  marvellous  outcoming 
of  Divine  purpose.  We  read  in  the  preceding  chapter,  in  the  very 
last  verse  of  it,  that  Simon  Peter  "  tarried  many  days  in  Joppa 
with  one  Simon  a  tanner."  He  has  got  so  far  on  the  road  to  the 
Gentiles.  A  Jew  of  Peter's  temper  who  could  lodge  with  a  tanner, 
may  to-morrow  go  to  convert  a  Gentile.  God  fixes  lodgings. 
Here  we  cannot  but  recall  what  we  have  read  in  Jewish  history 
regarding  the  relation  of  the  superior  Jews  to  the  occupation  of  a 
tanner.  Modern  writers  have  related  instances  of  a  prejudice 
which  to  the  western  mind  must  be  simply  preposterous.  We 
have  not,  however,  to  judge  things  from  our  own  historical  stand- 
point, but  from  the  civilization  to  which  they  specially  belong. 
Now,  consider  the  relation  of  the  superior  Jews  to  the  occupation 
of  a  tanner.  We  are  indebted  to  modern  writers  for  our  instances. 
An  ancient  Rabbi  said,  "  It  is  impossible  that  the  world  can  do 
without  tanners,  but  woe  unto  that  man  who  is  a  tanner."  This 
is  the  fact  upon  which  your  reasoning  must  be  based.  Not  what 
you  think  of  the  occupation  of  a  tanner,  but  what  the  Javs 
thought  of  it,  and  then  remember  that  Simon  Peter,  primate  of 
the  Apostles,  the  senior  disciple,  lodged  with  one  Simon  a  tanner  ! 
The  address  is  vaguely  given — ' '  whose  house  is  by  the  seaside. ' ' 
The  reason  being  that  the  Jews  would  not  have  tanneries  in  the 
towns.  Tanneries  were  a  necessity — a  hated  and  detested  neces- 
sity — but  they  must  be  kept  as  far  out  of  the  town  as  possible — in 
the  sea,  if  the  imperious  Jews  could  have  had  their  way  !  The 
tanner  was  not  allowed  to  have  his  place  of  business  within  fifty 
cubits  of  a  town.  Pie  was  kept  at  a  greater  distance  still  if  he 
happened  to  pursue  his  trade  at  the  west  end  of  a  town.  If  a  man 
married  without  telling  bis  bride  that  he  was  a  tanner,  she  could 
instantly  demand  release  from  the  nuptial  vow.  The  law  which 
provided  that  the  childless  widow  was  to  marry  the  brother  of  a 
deceased  husband  was  actually  set  aside  in  the  event  of  that 
brother  following  the  occupation  of  a  tanner.  You  see  then  how 
stubborn  were  the  prejudices  which  the  higher  Jews  entertained 
against  the  occupation  of  tanning,  and  yet  we  read  as  if  it  involved 
no  extraordinary  principle  or  secret,  that  Peter  lodged  or  "  tarried 
many  days  with  one  Simon  a  tanner."  It  means  everything,  there 
is  a  revolution  in  these  words.  There  is  nothing  sublimcr  in  his- 
tory than  is  implied  in  the  very  last  verse  of  the  ninth  chapter, 


2S6  ACTS  X. 


"  He  tarried  many  days  in  Joppa  with  one  Simon  a  tanner." 
Tiiis  makes  a  breach  in  the  wall,  a  stone  wall,  iron-bound,  but- 
tressed with  the  traditions  of  generations  ;  this  is  a  breach  in  the 
wall  that  will  widen  until  the  whole  falls,  and  man  will  everywhere 
hail  man  as  brother  ! 

The  point  to  be  observed  in  this  particular  study  is,  how  uncon. 
sciously  men  are  being  prepared  for  higher  communications,  wider 
services,  deeper  suffering,  nobler  sympathy.  God  leads  us  on  step 
by  step.  He  will  send  a  stubborn  Jew  who  had  never  eaten  any- 
thing common  or  unclean  to  lodge  with  one  Simon  a  tanner. 
Having  got  him  so  far  on  the  road,  He  will  send  him  to  a  Gentile 
called  Cornelius.  The  tanner  is  on  the  road  towards  the  Centuri- 
on !  We  do  not  jump  to  conclusions  in  Divine  Providence.  We 
go  forward  a  step  at  a  time,  and  we  never  know  how  far  we  have 
advanced  until  we  come  to  the  last  step,  and  find  that  it  is  but  a 
step.  Measured  from  the  starting  point  it  is  a  line  longer  than 
miles,  but  measured  by  the  very  last  thing  we  did,  it  is  only  a  step. 
This  is  God' s  way.  This  is  how  He  trains  you,  dear  young  chil- 
dren, for  the  last  step  which  we  now  call  death.  Now  in  this 
early  morning  of  your  young  life  you  do  not  want  to  die.  But 
little  by  little,  day  by  day,  suffering  by  suffering,  trial  by  trial, 
loss  by  loss,  a  time  will  come  when  even  you  will  say,  "  I  have  a 
desire  to  depart."  God  deals  thus  gradually  and  gently  with  us. 
Sometimes  His  providences  seem  to  be  abrupt  and  even  violent, 
but  in  reality  they  move  along  a  gradation  settled  and  adjusted  by 
the  tenderest  love.  Things  that  are  impossible  to  you  to-day  will 
be  the  commonplaces  of  to-morrow.  You  do  not  speak  to  the 
farthest-off  man  at  once  ;  he  could  not  hear  you  ;  your  voice 
would  be  strained  in  the  abortive  effort  to  reach  him  at  that  great 
social  distance  ;  but  you  speak  to  the  man  who  is  next  to  you,  and 
then  to  the  one  following,  and  so  a  man  at  a  time,  you  move  on 
until  the  distance  is  traversed  and  he  who  was  once  yizr  ^has 
been  brought  nigh!  Upon  this  daily  and  inevitable  process  rests 
your  confidence  that  prejudice  of  the  most  stubborn  kind  shall  be 
broken  down.  Boundaries  which  separate  man  from  man  shall 
be  obliterated.  Tradition  shall  go  down  before  the  advancing 
tide  of  philanthropy,  and  one  day — golden  day — we  shall  know 
that  every  land  is  home  and  every  man  is  brother  I 

What  mysterious  combinations  of  e.\periences  and  events  arc  con- 


THE  INVISIBLE  SELF.  257 

tinually  taking  place.  Cornelius  "saw  in  a  vision  evidently," 
"  an  angel  of  God  coming  in  to  him."  Peter  fell  into  a  trance 
and  heard  a  voice.  That  is  our  daily  life.  We  cannot  be  shut 
up  within  the  four  corners  of  a  rude  and  vulgar  materialism.  God 
has  still  over  us  the  mysterious  reign  of  dreams.  We  have  before 
had  occasion  to  say  that  dreams  enlarge  our  life.  Why  wonder  if 
dreams  will  co7m  true,  when  dreams  are  true  .'*  You  had  the 
dream.  Why  ask  if  it  will  come  true  ?  You  have  forgotten  the 
purpose  and  mission  of  dreams.  You  should  have  spoken  to  the 
angels,  you  should  have  said,  "  What  is  it,  Lord  .?"  You  should 
even  have  contradicted  the  angel,  and  said,  "  Not  so.  Lord,"  and 
then  further  conversation  would  have  ensued.  Instead  of  that  you 
continue  to  sleep,  and  in  the  morning  ask  if  dreams  come  true  I 
You  had  your  chance,  and  missed  it.  The  night  is  full  of  crowds. 
In  the  infinite  galleries  of  the  night  the  angels  walk,  visiting  the 
beloved  of  God,  Dreams  of  your  own  causing  are  not  the  dreams 
we  are  now  speaking  about.  Physical  nightmare  is  one  thing, 
spiritual  vision  and  clairvoyance,  the  sight  of  the  soul,  is  another. 
But  even  apart  from  the  ministry  of  the  night,  the  secret  coming, 
and  shining,  and  talking  of  the  angels,  we  have  in  our  day- 
dreams events  sufficiently  spiritually  mysterious  to  touch  the  senti- 
ment that  inspires  the  religious  imagination.  "How  strange," 
say  we,  "  that  it  should  have  been  so."  "  How  remarkable  that 
our  letters  should  have  crossed."  "  Why  at  the  very  time  I  was 
doing  this  you  must  have  been  coming  to  me.  How  singular  !" 
You  may  call  it  merely  singular  if  you  please,  but  that  is  an  irre- 
ligious way  of  talking  about  human  history  and  divine  issues.  It 
was  not  an  accident.  I  want  to  cleanse  my  life  of  all  mere  acci- 
dents, and  to  feel  that  my  down-sitting  and  my  up-rising,  and  my 
out-going,  my  in-coming  are  matters  of  importance  in  heaven,  — 
that  the  very  hairs  of  my  head  are  all  numbered  !  Why  do  we 
belittle  our  experience  and  deplete  it  of  everything  that  could 
give  nobility,  and  enlargement,  and  apocalypse  to  our  highest 
nature  ?  Rather  be  it  mine  to  say  the  vision  was  from  heaven,  and 
an  angel  spake  to  me,  than  to  vulgarize  the  universe  and  to  find 
in  it  nothing  that  I  cannot  mark  with  plain  figures. 

Here  we  have  a  higher  laiv  swallowing  up  a  loivcr  one,  ' '  God 
hath  shewed  me  that  I  should  not  call  any  man  common  or  un- 
clean."     It  requires  GOD  to  show  that  to  some  men.     This  is 


>SS  ACTS  X. 


nothing  short  of  a  Divine  revelation — to  see  the  man  within  the 
creature.  I  see  the  figure,  but  there  is  something  lehmd  it ;  I  see 
the  poor  clothing,  the  unkempt  bod}' — there  is  something  behitid / 
I  see  the  roughness,  rudeness — there  is  something  behind.  A 
MAN  !  Said  the  murmuring  multitude  respecting  Zacchseus, 
"  Christ  hath  gone  in  to  be  the  guest  of  a  man  who  is  a  sinner." 
But  Jesus  called  the  sinner,  "  a  son  of  Abraham."  He  saw  the 
figure  within  the  figure,  the  ideal  within  the  factual,  the  spiritual 
within  the  material.  Through  the  window  of  the  eye  he  saw  the 
guest  of  the  house,  beautiful  as  a  lost  angel,  worthful  as  a  creation 
of  God  !     Lord,  open  our  eyes  that  we  may  see  one  another  ! 

Christianity  has  come  to  eat  up  and  absorb  all  our  little  laws 
and  to  set  us  under  a  nobler  legislation.  Said  Christ,  "  Who  is 
my  mother,  and  who  are  my  brethren  .?"  And  turning  to  His  dis- 
ciples, he  said,  "Whosoever  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  that  is 
in  heaven,  the  same  is  my  mother,  and  sister,  and  brother."  We 
are  under  the  foolish  notion  that  a  man  is  a  brother  because  we 
Avere  born  of  the  same  mother.  Nothing  of  the  kind.  There 
may  be  no  greater  stranger  in  the  universe  than  the  one  born  of 
the  same  mother.  They  are  brothers  who  are  one  in  soul,  one  in 
cofiviction,  one  in  hope/  The  others  are  but  animals,  a  blood  re- 
lationship that  may  be  dissolved  because  of  moral  considerations, 
but  no  man  can  repudiate  intellectual  brotherhood,  the  masonry 
of  the  soul,  the  joy  that  is  felt  in  a  common  prayer  and  a  com- 
mon obedience.  This  lesson  is  not  fitted  for  to-day.  Only  he 
that  hath  ears  to  hear  can  hear  it.  At  present  it  will  have  no 
popularity — yea,  it  will  only  have  partial  acceptance  ;  yet  I  would 
write  it  down,  and  commit  it  to  the  judgment  of  the  future,  that 
brotherhood  is  spiritual  not  physical,  and  that  the  true  relation- 
ship is  one  of  sympathy  and  of  religious  unity — a  common  feeling 
of  common  loyalty  to  a  common  Lord. 


XXIX. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  our  life  is  thine.  When  we  die  in  the  Lord  surely  we 
return  unto  thee,  and  give  thee  that  which  is  thine  own.  We  bless  thee 
for  life,  notwithstanding  its  daily  burden  and  its  continual  sorrow.  Thou 
hast  wrought  into  the  mystery  of  life  a  subtle  joy  which  fills  the  heart 
with  an  emotion  which  we  would  might  abide  there  for  ever.  In  the 
midst  of  life  we  are  in  death,  but  death  itself  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 
In  Christ  Jesus  we  can  say  to  Death,  "  where  is  thy  sting?  grave,  where 
is  thy  victory?"  Jesus  Christ  hath  abolished  death,  and  in  him.  our 
Priest  and  Saviour,  we  are  more  than  conquerors.  In  death  we  have 
found  life.  That  which  we  sow  is  not  quickened  except  it  die.  Help  us 
to  seize  this  great  truth  with  all  the  energy  of  love,  and  with  all  the  emo- 
tion of  triumphant  faith,  that  death  may  have  no  more  dominion  over  us. 
Thou  art  our  God  and  Father  :  a  sanctuary  of  defence,  and  a  pavilion  of 
daily  protection.  Thou  art  unto  us  as  a  high  rock,  whose  cooling  shadow 
refreshes  us  at  high  noon.  We  come  to  thee  always  through  Jesus  Christ 
the  righteous.  He  is  our  propitiation,  our  living  answer  to  an  accusmg 
law.  and  our  infinite  defence  against  a  righteous  vengeance. 

We  commend  to  thee  all  to  whom  this  is  a  day  of  mournful  suffering. 
We  recall  the  images  of  our  friends  and  make  them  live  before  the  eye 
of  a  loving  memory.  We  hear  their  cheering  voices  ;  we  feel  the  contact 
of  their  friendly  hands,  and  we  would  now  in  spirit  unite  with  them  in 
the  higher  song  of  the  higher  sanctuary. 

"  They  sing  the  Lamb  in  hymns  above. 
And  we  in  hymns  below." 

The  subject  is  the  same  and  unchangeable.  When  we  see  thee  as  thou 
art  we'll  give  thee  nobler  praise.  Comfort  those  who  remain.  Recall  to 
their  memory  all  thine  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises.  Show 
them  that  the  angel  is  at  the  grave  awaiting  their  coming,  and  that  his 
presence  there  is  a  pledge  of  a  resurrection  to  be  accomplished  by  the 
power  of  Christ.  Recall  all  that  is  dearest,  sweetest,  tenderest  in  the 
memory  of  our  friends  who  have  joined  the  upper  band,  and  may  we 
vehemently  desire  to  be  united  to  the  blood-bought  host  and  sin  no  more. 
As  for  those  of  us  who  remain,  may  we  be  doubly  industrious.  As  the 
ranks  become  thinner,  may  those  who  are  left  fight  with  redoubled 
strength  and  watch  with  keener  vigilance.  Cause  some  who  are  young 
and  strong  to  come  forward  and  take  the  places  of  those  who  have  been 


26o  ACTS  XI.  I -1 8. 


called  higher,  that  thus  the  army  of  Christ  may  suffer  no  loss,  and  its 
leadership  may  be  continually  reinforced.  We  are  here  but  for  a 
moment  ;  presently  there  will  be  a  cry,  "  Behold  the  Bridegroom  cometh  ! 
go  ye  out  to  meet  him."  May  we  be  amongst  those  whose  lamps  will  be 
a  flame,  and  who  shall  be  ready  in  heart  and  hand  to  meet  the  only 
One  whose  presence  is  heaven.  We  will  see  thee  presently  face  to  face, 
and  then  will  speak  further  with  thee.  To-day  we  must  be  content  with 
these  few  brief  broken  words,  with  references  that  are  a  pain  to  them- 
selves because  of  their  incompleteness.  Yea,  with  sentences  pained  with 
much  agony  because  they  cannot  tell  the  secret  which  gives  life  to  our 
inmost  hope. 

We  bless  thee  for  friends  returned  from  places  far  away.  They  come 
with  cheerful  countenances,  with  loving  eyes,  and  with  new  tones  of  trust 
and  love  in  their  voices.  So  gather  us  altogether  from  across  the  seas, 
and  rivers,  and  wildernesses,  and  make  of  us  at  last  in  Christ  Jesus,  Thy 
Son,  one  house  from  which  no  foot  shall  ever  wander.     Amen. 

Acts  xi.  1-18. 

1.  And  the  apostles  and  brethren  that  were  in  Judrea  heard  that  the 
Gentiles  had  also  received  the  word  of  God.  [The  context  implies  that 
the  tidings  travelled,  while  Peter  remained  at  Caesarea,  first  probably  to 
Joppa  and  Lydda,  and  afterwards  to  Jerusalem.] 

2.  And  when  Peter  was  come  up  to  Jerusalem,  they  that  were  of  the 
circumcision  contended  [the  tense  implies  continuous  or  repeated  discus- 
sion] with  him, 

3.  Saying,  Thou  wentest  in  to  men  uncircumcised  [men  with  a  fore- 
skin], and  didst  eat  with  them. 

4.  But  Peter  rehearsed  [began  and  set  forth]  the  matter  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  expounded  it  by  order  unto  them,  saying, 

5.  I  was  in  the  city  of  Joppa  praying  :  and  in  a  trance  I  saw  a  vision, 
A  certain  vessel  descend,  as  it  had  been  a  great  sheet,  let  down  from 
heaven  by  four  corners  ;  and  it  came  even  to  me  : 

6.  Upon  the  which  when  I  had  fastened  mine  eyes,  I  considered,  and 
saw  fourfooted  beasts  of  the  earth,  and  wild  beasts,  and  creeping  things, 
and  fowls  of  the  air. 

7.  And  I  heard  a  voice  saying  unto  me.  Arise,  Peter  ;  slay  and  eat. 

8.  But  I  said,  Not  so.  Lord  :  for  nothing  common  or  unclean  hath  at 
any  time  entered  into  my  mouth. 

9.  But  the  voice  answered  me  again  from  heaven.  What  God  hath 
cleansed,  that  call  not  thou  common. 

10.  And  this  was  done  three  times  :  and  all  were  drawn  up  again  into 
heaven. 

11.  And,  behold,  immediately  there  were  three  men  already  come  unto 
the  house  where  I  was,  sent  from  Caesarea  unto  me. 

12.  And   the  spirit^  bade  ine   go  with  them,    nothing  doubting.     [The 


THE  KEYWORD   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  261 

Greek  verb  has  a  special  force  as  being  the  same  as  thai  for  "  contended  " 
in  V.  2.]  Moreover  these  six  brethren  accompanied  me,  and  we  entered 
into  the  man"s  house  ; 

13.  And  he  shewed  us  how  he  had  seen  an  angel  in  his  house,  which 
stood  and  said  unto  him,  Send  men  to  Joppa,  and  call  for  Simon,  whose 
surname  is  Peter  ; 

14.  Who  shall  tell  thee  words,  whereby  thou  and  all  thy  house  shall  be 
saved. 

15.  And  as  I  began  to  speak,  the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  them,  as  on  us  at 
the  beginning. 

16.  Then  remembered  I  the  word  of  the  Lord  [ch.  i.  5],  how  that  he 
said,  John  indeed  baptized  with  water  ;  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

17.  Forasmuch  then  as  God  gave  them  the  like  gift  as  he  did  unto  us, 
who  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  [the  Greek  construction  gives  a 
somewhat  different  meaning  :  If  then  God  gave  to  the  man  equal  gift  as  to 
us,  tipon  their  believing\\  what  was  I,  that  I  could  withstand  God?  [the 
Greek  gives  a  complex  question.  Who  was  I,  able  to  withstand  God  ?] 

18.  When  they  heard  these  things,  they  held  iheir  peace,  and  glorified 
God  [the  difference  of  tenses  in  the  two  Greek  verbs  implies  that  they 
first  held  their  peace,  and  then  began  a  continuous  utterance  of  praise], 
saying,  Then  hath  God  also  to  the  Gentiles  granted  repentance  unto  life. 

ENLARGEMENT  OF  IDEAS. 

••  A  ND  the  apostles  and  brethren  that  were  in  Judaea  heard 
ir\.  that  the  Gentiles  had  also  received  the  Word  of  God." 
This  little  common  word  "  ALSO"  is  most  pathetic.  We  find 
pathos  sometimes  in  little  words  and  in  strange  connections.  In 
this  instance  it  means  more  and  more — further  and  further.  The 
light  is  brightening,  and  the  lands  that  are  afar  off  are  enjoying  its 
glory.  The  word  "  ALSO"  is,  I  say,  but  a  common  little  word 
in  many  connections,  but  in  this  particular  connection  it  is  the 
creation  of  a  new  world,  an  annexation  of  new  kingdoms  and 
provinces  to  the  central  empire  of  Emmanuel,  The  same  word 
occurs  in  the  eighteenth  verse,  wherein  the  Jews  said,  glorifying 
God,  "  Then  hath  God  ALSO  to  the  Gentiles  granted  repentance 
unto  life."  The  keyword  of  Christianity  is  ^w/ar^fw^w/ — enclos- 
ure, continual  extension  of  love  and  mercy,  host  upon  host,  army 
upon  army,  till,  the  whole  universe  is  one  Church,  and  its  voice 
one  song.  Do  not  believe  in  any  view  of  Christianity  that  excludes 
anybody.     Christianity  came  not  to  exclude  men,  but  to  include 


262  ACTS  XI.  1-18. 


them.  Let  that  be  a  continual  test  when  you  are  examining  relig- 
ious faiths,  and  religious  propositions  and  plans.  The  theology 
that  would  shut  out  from  Christ's  heart  any  human  creature  is  a 
bad  theology — is  a  lie  !  Election  is  not  exclusive,  but  inclusive. 
The  ninth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  does  not  shut  out 
any  man  who  would  come  to  Christ  :  it  tells  the  Jews,  in  startling 
language,  that  God  is  greater  than  they  are,  and  that  in  his  great 
love  he  is  going  to  gather  into  one  all  the  lands  and  peoples  of  the 
earth.  Take  instances  of  the  Divine  election  such  as  we  can  un- 
derstand, and  you  will  see  how  true  is  this  doctrine  in  its  higher 
relation.  God  elects  one  day  in  the  week  ;  does  he  thereby  repro- 
bate the  remaining  days .?  Do  the  six  poor  cold  exiled  days  gather 
around  the  elected  seventh,  and  say,  "  The  way  of  the  Lord  is  not 
equal  ;  you  have  been  chosen  and  we  have  been  shut  out  ;  God 
has  blessed  and  crowned jj'^w,  and  left  us  without  benediction  and 
coronation.?"  Nothing  of  the  kind.  Why  does  God  elect  the 
otie  day  .?  To  get  at  the  wliole  six  that  are  outside  it.  He  does  not 
say,  "  Remember  Monday  to  keep  it  holy  ;"  he  says  "  Remem- 
ber the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy  ;"  for  no  man  can  keep  Sun- 
day holy  without  keeping  the  whole  six  days  holy  also.  You  can- 
not keep  one  day  holy  and  make  the  other  profane.  Given  a 
Sabbath  of  the  real  kind,  an  open  door  into  heaven,  a  highway 
on  which  Ave  meet  the  angels,  a  garden  path  through  the  very 
paradise  of  God,  and  the  whole  week  partakes  of  its  nature — reflects 
its  love,  vibrates  with  its  music,  and  is  glad  with  its  joy. 

Take  the  case  of  the  human  family.  God  made  one  man,  but 
he  made  that  man  that  in  him  he  might  make  all  men.  God 
elected  one  family,  that  through  one  family  he  might  bless  all  the 
families  of  the  earth.  And  this  idea  of  his  love  has  been  per- 
verted ;  this  wine  of  heaven  has  been  turned  into  sourness  ;  the 
very  election  that  should  have  doubled  the  Gospel  beauty,  as  the 
river  throws  back  the  sky,  has  been  turned  into  an  occasion  of 
controversy  and  separation,  and  of  mutual  misunderstanding,  and 
devils  have  laughed  at  the  divisions  of  Christendom. 

Here  we  have  the  marvellous  \>o\ver  oi  prejudice.  "  When  Peter 
was  come  up  to  Jerusalem,  they  that  were  of  the  circumcision 
contended  with  him."  They  had  been  trained  in  a  certain  view, 
and  they  were  faithful  to  that  view  ;  so  far  of  course  they  were  not 
to  be  blamed,  for  they  believed  that  they  alone  had  the  truth,  and 


SECTARIANISM  IRRELIGIOUS.  263 

so  believing  they  contended  valiantly  for  it.  The  power  of  pre- 
judice is  probably  the  greatest  power  under  which  human  life 
withers.  The  man  against  whom  you  have  a  prejudice  can  do  no 
good.  If  required  to  vindicate  your  unfriendly  attitude  by  fair 
and  equitable  argument,  you  would  not  have  one  word  to  say,  but 
that  you  do  not  like  the  man  ;  you  are  turned  against  him  ;  he 
repels  you  in  some  way  or  other,  reasonable  or  unreasonable,  and 
that  prejudice  will  be  more  difficult  to  conquer  and  eradicate  than 
any  number  of  reasons  which  you  could  advance  in  fair  language. 
Here  was  a  sect  that  could  lay  its  arms  upon  its  breast,  drink  in 
its  own  Christian  satisfaction,  and  let  all  the  world  go  down  to  the 
devil  without  one  moment's  remorse.  Any  religion  that  is  fully 
comprehended,  that  will  enable  a  man  to  do  that  is  diabolical. 
There  are  some  people  in  Christian  countries  to-day  who,  imagin- 
ing themselves  to  be  the  chosen  favourites  of  heaven,  can  allow  all 
outsiders  to  go  down  to  darkness  without  ever  troubling  them  on 
their  descending  way.  But  for  the  spirit  of  Christ,  I  could  call 
down  fire  from  heaven  upon  such  sectarians  !  Yet  it  is  possible — 
yea,  it  is  real— yea,  more,  it  is  the  curse  of  Christian  society.  To 
see  what  we  have  seen  of  narrow-minded,  bloodless  men,  pale, 
shrivelled,  hunger-bitten,  thinking  that  ihey  had  so  attracted  the 
Divine  notice  as  to  become  the  favourites  of  a  discriminating 
Heaven,  and  that  others  had  gone  to  live  eternally  with  the  devil 
because  of  a  Divine  decree '!  Personally  I  know  of  nothing  in 
Sodom,  or  in  Gomorrah,  so  terrible  as  such  a  damnable  self-com- 
placency. "  God  so  loved  the  WORLD  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  WHOSOEVER  believeth  in  him  might  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins,  and  not  for  ours  ONLY,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world. "  If  I  have  to-day  to  elect  my  Gospel,  I  elect  that,  WHO- 
SOEVER, EVERY  CREATURE  under  heaven,  a  WORLD  re- 
deemed, and  not  a  little  company  selected.  Christianity  destroys 
all  complacencies.  Christianity  tells  the  most  self-complacent 
man  amongst  us  that  the  very  poorest  human  creature  that  crawls 
on  the  streets  is  his  brother.  Nowhere  does  the  Christian  Gospel 
speak  one  contempluous  word  of  any  human  creature.  Never  did 
Christ  say  to  anyone,  "  You  are  too  bad."  No  ;  as  the  sins  piled 
themselves  one  upon  another,  blackening  the  blue  heavens  with 
their  shadow,   he  said,  "Thy  sins,  which  are  many,  are  all  for- 


264  ACTS  XL  I -I  I 


given  thee."  How  is  it,  then,  that  the  human  heart  shuts  out 
this  human  rehgion — a  rehgion  that  takes  up  the  weak,  that  rep- 
resents the  dumb,  that  looks  for  what  the  bhnd  have  lost,  and 
turns  away  with  haughty  independence  from  every  man  that  would 
offer  it  the  cruelty  of  his  patronage  ?  Surely  this  is  a  mystery  to 
the  angels  ! 

We  think  "  they  that  were  of  the  circumcision"  is  a  sentence 
which  refers  to  people  that  lived  many  centuries  ago.  It  is  not  ; 
it  is  a  sentence  which  includes  men  and  women  who  are  breathing 
in  this  house  at  this  moment,  and  who  are  to  be  found  under 
every  ecclesiastical  roof  in  the  world.  Every  one  of  us  has  his 
own  "circumcision."  Each  says,  "We  must  draw  the  line 
somewhere."  So  say  I.  I  would  lay  my  line  on  GOD'S 
LOVE  I  God  did  not  make  me  a  line-layer.  He  made  me  a 
minister  of  his  grace,  and  wherein  any  word  of  mine  is  less  than 
God's  love,  reject  my  unholy  Gospel,  for  Gospel  it  is  none — only 
a  word  that  would  wither  and  blight  the  heart  of  man.  Some 
men's  "circumcision"  is  the  regularly-turned-out  creed,  num- 
bered, partly  written  in  capitals,  partly  in  italics,  itemed,  and  ar- 
ranged, weighed  out,  defined,  indexed,  settled.  If  you  believe 
this  creed  you  are  good,  if  you  doubt  it  you  are  infidels,  if  you  re- 
ject it  you  are  atheists.  Others  have  a  notion  that  there  is  what 
they  term  "  a  regular  ministry."  You  would  be  surprised  at  the 
fine  lines  that  have  been  drawn  amongst  ministers.  One  man  is 
"  only  a  missionary,"  nothing  more  1  Another  man  is  "  only  a 
home  missionary,"  nothing  more  !  Another  man  is  only  "  a  sort 
of  a  home  missionary,"  and  others  are  "  regular  ministers," 
properly  made,  clothed,  decorated,  and  otherwise  classified,  so  as 
to  have  no  ambiguity  about  their  exact  standing.  Others  have 
been  "educated"  for  the  ministry.  Sometimes  they  can  look 
contemptuously  upon  men  who  have  not  been  "educated"  for 
the  ministry.  Educated  to  tell  mankind  that  Christ  came  to  the 
world  to  save  sinners,  and  that  he  tasted  death  for  every  man.  I 
would  that  we  could  escape  this  "  circumcision,"  narrowness  of 
mere  creed,  and  mere  ministry,  and  merely  ecclesiasticism,  and 
know  that  all  men  who  bow  at  the  altar  of  the  Cross  are  the  min- 
isters of  Christ.  The  Lord's  fire  consume  all  pricstism  !  They 
that  are  of  the  "  circumcision"  know  exactly  where  the  right 
Church  is.      In  their  estimation  j'(7k  who  now  hear  me  are  not  a 


ENLARGEMENT  IN  TWO  DIRECTIONS.  265 

Church  at  all  !  You  are  labouring  under  an  amiable  delusion  if 
you  imagine  that  you  are  a  Church  ;  and  we  on  our  side  have 
prejudices  quite  as  narrow,  and  in  some  cases  even  more  irra- 
tional. ' '  Then  hath  God  also' '  to  every  sect  and  name  and  party 
and  class  granted  of  the  glory  of  his  light  and  the  quietness  of  his 
peace.  Seize  that  idea  and  drop  your  angry  controversies  and 
miserable  wrangles  over  interpretations  which  there  is  no  human 
authority  sufficiently  infallible  to  determine.  I  do  not  know 
whether  to  rejoice  more  over  the  fifteenth  verse  or  over  the  eigh- 
teenth. The  fifteenth  verse  reads,  "  And  as  I  began  to  speak  the 
Holy  Ghost  fell  on  them  ;"  that  is  enlargement.  The  eighteenth 
verse  reads,  they  "  glorified  God,  saying.  Then  hath  God  also  to 
the  Gentiles  granted  repentance  unto  life."  The  work  of  exten- 
sion took  place  in  two  directions.  The  mind  of  the  Church  was 
expanded.  Not  only  did  the  Gentiles  receive  the  rising  light,  but 
the  Church  itself,  on  hearing  that  the  morning  glory  had  lifted  it- 
self above  the  lands  that  sat  in  darkness,  became  sensible  of  a 
great  outstretching  of  mind  ;  so  the  Gentiles  sang  their  new 
hymn,  and  the  Church  uplifted  its  anthem,  and  hymn  and  anthem 
blended  into  one  music-offering  to  heaven,  and  the  Jew  and  the 
Gentile  knew  that  "  the  middle  wall  of  partition"  had  for  ever 
fallen  down  ! 


XXX. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  this  is  thine  house,  and  the  spirit  of  it  is  thine.  Surely 
it  is  thine  altogether.  There  is  no  unholy  chamber  in  the  Lord's  great 
sanctuary.  Are  not  all  things  cleansed  with  blood  that  are  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord  ?  are  they  not  without  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing  ? 
and  are  not  we  ourselves  called  upon  by  the  Spirit  of  the  house  to  put  on 
garments  of  righteousness,  and  clothing  beautiful  as  thine  own  holiness  ? 
Is  not  this  our  calling  in  Christ  Jesus  the  spotless  One  ? — the  Lamb  of 
God,  the  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  a  sin-offering  without  sin, 
an  acceptable  Propitiation  !  Enable  us,  we  humbly  pray  thee,  to  know 
that  thou  art  here  looking  upon  us,  and  that  the  air  also  is  full  of  angels 
and  the  spirits  of  the  loved  who  have  gone  up  to  the  throne  and  to  the 
light.  May  we  know  that  this  is  not  common  ground,  but  a  chosen  place, 
a  land  cleansed  and  prepared,  where  the  flame  is,  out  of  which  the  God 
of  Abraham  and  the  Father  of  Jesus  ever  speaks  to  the  sons  of  men.  We 
have  come  to  see  heaven  opened  and  the  Son  of  man  standing  at  the  right 
hand  of  God.  We  would  be  no  longer  tossed  about  as  those  who  have 
no  centre  and  standing  place.  We  would  know  that  the  Lord  reigneth, 
that  all  things  are  in  his  kind  and  mighty  hands,  and  that  not  a  sparrow 
falleth  to  the  ground  without  the  Father.  All  things  are  in  the  hollow  of 
thine  hand.  The  opening  of  thine  eyes  is  the  sending  forth  of  day  and 
summer  over  the  whole  firmament  and  over  the  whole  land.  So  we  have 
rest.  We  have  peace  with  God  ;  we  have  security  in  thy  righteousness, 
and  hope  because  of  thy  mercy.  Thou  lovest  thine  own  image  and  like- 
ness. Thou  dost  see  a  reflection  of  thyself  even  in  the  ruin  which  we 
have  wrought.  We  therefore  come,  desiring  to  be  reunited  with  God, 
restored  through  Christ  Jesus,  the  one  Saviour,  purified  and  comforted 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  have  brought  our  sins  with  us,  but  we  need  not 
take  them  away.  Thou  wilt  dissolve  them  as  clouds  that  shall  no  more 
darken  our  outlook.  Thou  dost  send  trouble  upon  us  not  to  grieve  but  to 
test  us.  Sanctify  all  bereavement,  all  sudden  darkening  of  the  household 
joy,  every  opened  grave,  every  shattered  hope.  Show  us  that  in  all  these 
things  thou  art  working  out  a  sovereign  purpose  of  love.  Help  us  to 
hold  fast  the  hand  when  we  cannot  see  the  face  of  God.  The  darkness 
and  the  light  are  both  alike  unto  thee.  The  night  shineth  as  the  day,  and 
all  that  we  now  know  of  light  is  but  darkness  compared  with  the  glory 
which  shall  be  revealed.     Thou  wilt  make  the  moon  as  the  sun,  and  the 


ANNOTATED   TEXT.  267 

sun  sevenfold  in  brightness,  and  the  glory  shall  burn  like  the  light  of  thy 
throne.  These  are  our  expectations  in  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord.  Already 
we  have  in  him  a  wonderful  inheritance.  Our  loved  ones  have  not  died 
who  have  fallen  asleep  in  his  arms.  They  are  still  ours,  and  the  more  so 
that  they  are  his,  and  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  on  earth  is  named 
in  him  who  is  the  Son  of  man.  Let  our  wants  cry  unto  heaven,  and  let 
thy  mercy  respond.  We  want  more  light,  more  purity  and  nobleness  of 
soul,  more  faith,  more  of  thyself.  Thou  that  dwellest  between  the 
Cherubim,  shine  forth.  Let  there  be  no  darkness  in  our  souls  ;  may  our 
inward  life  be  like  a  house  filled  with  the  light  of  God.  Few  and  evil  are 
our  days — at  the  most  they  are  but  a  handful.  The  grave  is  always  just 
outside  the  window,  and  is  part  of  our  very  dwelling-place.  Show  us 
that  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  Resurrection,  there  is  no  death,  and  that  we 
should  see  the  garden,  not  the  tomb.  The  Lord  direct  us  all  the  remain- 
ing days  of  our  life.  Give  us  good  cheer  by  the  way,  when  the  heart  is 
made  suddenly  sad.  Pluck  the  fruit  that  is  on  branches  too  high  for  us 
to  reach.  Take  us  up  awhile  and  give  us  rest  when  the  way  is  long  and 
the  flesh  is  weary,  and  at  the  last  may  we  hear  rather  the  salutation  of  the 
angels  than  the  farewells  of  the  dying.     Amen. 

Acts  xi.  19-30. 

19.  Now  they  which  were  scattered  abroad  [a  new  and  important  section 
begins  with  these  words]  upon  the  persecution  that  arose  about  Stephen 
[whose  death  was  followed  by  a  general  outburst  of  fanaticism]  travelled 
as  far  as  Phenice,  and  Cyprus,  and  Antioch  [the  great  Syrian  capital], 
preaching  the  word  to  none  [to  no  one, — the  Greek  number  is  singular] 
but  unto  the  Jews  only. 

20.  And  some  of  them  were  men  of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene  [Greek-speak- 
ing Jews],  which,  when  they  were  come  to  Antioch,  spake  unto  the  Gre- 
cians, preaching  the  Lord  Jesus. 

21.  And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them  :  and  a  great  number 
believed,  and  turned  unto  the  Lord. 

22.  Then  tidings  of  these  things  came  unto  the  ears  of  the  church  which 
was  in  Jerusalem  :  and  they  sent  forth  Barnabas  [whose  sympathies  for 
such  work  were  shewn  in  his  very  name.  Son  of  Consolation],  that  he 
should  go  as  far  as  Antioch. 

23.  Who  when  he  came,  and  had  seen  the  grace  of  God,  was  glad,  and 
exhorted  them  all  [the  tense  implies  continuous  action],  that  with  pur- 
pose of  heart  they   would  cleave  unto  the  Lord. 

24.  For  he  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith  • 
and  much  people  [a  great  multitude]  was  added  unto  the  Lord. 

25.  Then  departed  Barnabas  to  Tarsus,  for  to  seek  Saul  [probably 
implying  some  intercourse  with  the  Apostle,  by  letter  or  message,  since 
his  departure  from  Jerusalem]. 

26.  And  when  he  had  found  him,  he  brought  him  unto  Antioch.     And 


268  ACTS  XI.  19-30. 


it  came  to  pass,  that  a  whole  year  they  assembled  themselves  with  the 
church,  and  taught  much  people.  And  the  disciples  were  called  [got  the 
name  of]  Christians  first  in  Antioch. 

27.  And  in  these  days  came  prophets  from  Jerusalem  unto  Antioch. 

28.  And  there  stood  up  one  of  them  named  Agabus,  and  signified  by 
the  spirit  that  there  should  be  great  dearth  throughout  all  the  world  [the 
Roman  empire]  :  which  came  to  pass  in  the  days  of  Claudius  Caesar. 

29.  Then  the  disciples,  every  man  according  to  his  ability  [as  each 
man  prospered],  determined  to  send  relief  [to  send  as  a  ministration]  unto 
the  brethren  which  dwelt  in  Judaea  : 

30.  Which  also  they  did,  and  sent  it  to  the  elders  by  the  hands  of  Bar- 
nabas and  Saul. 

CLEAVING  UNTO  THE  LORD. 

THE  first  part  of  this  text  is  a  condensation  of  the  former  part 
of  the  chapter.  To  the  infinite  amazement  of  the  early 
preachers  the  Word  of  the  Lord  toolc  effect  upon  others  besides 
Jews.  It  touched  the  heart  of  the  Centurion,  and  it  awakened  the 
faith  of  the  Grecian  in  Antioch.  In  this  way  Christianity  became 
quite  as  much  a  revelation  to  \\\q  Jews  themselves  as  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. It  was  a  surprise  of  love.  The  Jews  saw  that  Christianity 
was  not  a  local  lamp,  but  a  universal  sun,  and  as  its  glory  bright- 
ened the  distant  hills  and  made  the  far-off  valleys  sing  with  new 
joy,  the  preachers  were  glad  ;  they  felt  themselves  at  once  invested 
with  a  new  responsibility,  and  stirred  with  a  new  hope.  Some 
such  passion  should  fill  our  hearts  when  we  see  far-off  men 
touched  by  the  power  of  Christ.  The  extension  of  Christ's  king- 
dom is  the  supreme  joy  of  the  loyal  Church.  To  see  another 
province  added  to  his  empire  is  to  partake  in  our  little  degree  of 
the  travail  of  his  soul,  which  brings  him  his  one  satisfaction.  Here- 
in we  may  see  a  proof  and  seal  of  the  Divine  origin  of  Christian- 
ity. All  other  religions  remain  at  home.  Other  religions  are  cold 
theories  or  entertaining  speculations  or  sentimental  dreams. 
They  do  not  come  out  in  the  dark,  nor  do  they  brave  the  wilder- 
ness, nor  are  they  tempted  across  the  sea.  They  pillow  themselves 
at  home,  and  then  fall  into  ignoble  rest  and  useless  dreaming. 
Christianity  never  stops  at  one  place  as  a  final  point.  Having 
showed  its  light,  sounded  its  trumpet,  offered  its  hospitality,  it 
says,  "  I  must  preach  the  Gospel  to  other  lands  also."  Any  re- 
ligion that  talks  in  that  beneficent  tone  needs  no  cunning  argu- 


TYPICAL   CONVERSIONS.  269 

ment  of  man  to  sustain  and  vindicate  its  divinity.  Christianity  is 
an  aggressive  religion,  Christianity  is  a  fighting  faith,  Christianity 
is  a  military  theology.  If  its  professors  are  non-militant,  easy, 
self-contained,  self-complacent,  they  give  the  lie  to  their  own 
faith  :  they  are  baptized  infidels.  They  do  not  know  the  spirit  of 
zeal  which  goes  out  to  the  whole  earth  and  to  the  ends  of  the 
world,  seeking,  calling,  blessing,  saving,  giving  itself  away  in  con- 
tinual and  hopeful  sacrifice.  In  proportion  as  we  sit  at  home  we 
disown  the  spirit  of  the  Christianity  to  which  we  owe  our  security. 
In  the  universality  of  the  Christian  offer  I  see  its  Godhood.  Lux- 
uries are  only  here  and  there,  but  necessaries  are  everywhere. 
Wines  grow  on  these  sunny  hills,  and  in  yonder  sheltered  valley, 
they  do  not  grow  everywhere  ;  but  show  me  the  land  where  there 
is  no  water  !  Men  need  water,  not  wine.  "  The  burning  rays  of 
the  ruby  shine"  in  special  places,  but  the  light  of  the  sun  goeth 
forth  everywhere  with  impartial  splendour  and  ungrudging  bene- 
diction. Some  of  God's  gifts  are  special,  local,  and  individual, 
but  these  gifts  are  not  necessary  to  salvation.  Whatever  is  neces- 
sary to  the  soul's  redemption  and  unification  with  Christ  is 
spoken,  or  to  be  spoken,  in  every  language  and  dialect  of  earth. 
Universality  is  argument  in  such  a  case. 

There  are  two  lypical  instances  given  in  the  narrative.  Chris- 
tianity touched  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  centurion.  Let  him 
represent  Roman  strength,  sternness,  law,  force,  dignity.  Chris- 
tianity touched  the  Grecian  mind.  Let  that  stand  for  refinement, 
elegance,  delicacy,  philosophy,  for  the  completing  line  of  human 
thought  and  service.  There  you  have  the  whole  circle.  Chris- 
tianity becomes  Roman  to  the  Roman,  Grecian  to  the  Grecian — a 
great  rock  to  the  rocky  man,  a  rainbow  to  the  dreaming  genius,  a 
summer  light  to  the  poet's  fancy.  Christianity  speaks  to  even,' 
man  in  the  tongue  wherein  he  was  born.  Christianity  says.  You 
cannot  learn  my  language  at  once,  but  I  can  speak  yours.  There- 
fore, with  the  infinite  stoop  of  Divine  and  tender  grace  it  comes 
down  to  the  lowliest  and  obscurest  of  men  and  utters  its  gracious 
Gospel.  No  other  religion  does  this.  Every  other  religion  says, 
"  You  must  come  to  me  ;  I  will  not  take  one  step  towards  you." 
This  religion,  symbolized  by  the  blessed  Cross,  comes  out  towards 
every  man  to  seek  and  to  save.  In  such  circumstances  such  be- 
neficence is  argument. 


270  ACTS  XL  19-30. 


What  was  the  effect  upon  the  Jewish  Christian  Church  when 
tidings  of  evangelized  Gentiles  came  to  its  ears  ?  At  once  the 
Christian  Church  in  Jerusalem  ' '  sent  forth  Barnabas,  that  he 
should  go  as  far  as  Antioch,"  and  inquire  concerning  this  last  of 
the  miracles.  \\' hen  he  came,  what  was  the  result  ?  He  saw  ihe 
grace  0/  God.  There  is  no  inistaking  it.  It  is  like  nothing  else. 
Imitations  perish  under  scrutiny,  but  the  real  grace  of  God  grows 
upon  examination.  Into  it  there  comes  a  keener  glow  and 
ardour,  around  it  there  flashes  a  tender  and  more  delicate  beauty, 
out  of  it  there  rises  a  holy  aroma  such  as  might  be  felt  among  the 
hills  of  the  heavenly  paradise.  He  did  not  find  a  number  of  con- 
troversialists, technical  theologians,  excellent  and  most  skilful  dis- 
putants. He  found  men  praying,  with  eager  minds,  with  forgiving 
souls,  unconscious  of  earth,  more  on  high  than  below.  There 
are  no  words  for  such  a  mystery.  This  Christian  emotion  must  be 
felt,  for  it  cannot  be  expressed.  When  Barnabas  saw  the  grace 
of  God  he  was  GLAD.  He  did  not  think  that  his  soul  could  be 
any  more  joyful  than  it  was,  but  it  could  1  There  is  always  a 
higher  wave  ;  beyond  is  the  fuller  billow.  We  have  not  yet  ex- 
hausted the  possibilities  of  Christian  enjoyment.  Is  the  farmer 
glad  when  he  sees  corn  growing  upon  land  on  which  it  never  grew 
before  ?  Does  he  not  come  home  with  a  new  expression  upon  his 
countenance,  and  when  he  speaks  does  he  not  speak  in  tones  of 
glad  thankfulness,  and  does  not  ever}'body  in  the  house  feel  that 
something  good  has  happened  outside  ?  It  is  so  the  Christian  feels 
when  he  sees  strange  men  turning  to  the  faith.  When  looking 
down  the  hills  he  sees  whole  armies  moving  up  towards  the  all- 
uniting  and  all-sanctifying  Cross.  He  says  this  is  prophecy  ful- 
filled. Is  it  not  said  that  he  who  is  our  Christ  shall  have  the 
heathen  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
his  possession  .-' — and  lo,  they  come  !  In  that  hour  of  sacred  rap- 
ture he  touches  the  very  ecstasy  of  Christ  himself.  Are  we  glad 
when  we  see  men  converted  ?  Do  we  not  criticise  the  process  of 
their  conversion  ?  Are  we  not  given  to  too  much  suspicion  of  the 
genuineness  of  the  so  called  change  of  mind  and  heart .?  Do 
newly-converted  men  find  a  warm,  cordial,  comforting  atmosphere 
in  the  Church  when  they  come  in  ?  Let  the  Church  take  care 
lest  by  a  cold  internal  atmosphere  it  check  and  discourage  beyond 
recovery  the  march  and  victory  of    its  own  external  attempts  at 


THE  HELPFULNESS  OF  ENCOURAGEMENT.      271 

evangelization  !  Barnabas  took  the  right  course  ;  he  said,  ' '  This 
is  the  grace  of  God."  He  himself  felt  glad  beyond  all  expres- 
sion. Having  made  this  recognition,  and  having  sympathetically 
entered  into  this  experience,  he  said,  "  Now  with  full  purpose  of 
heart  you  must  cleave  unto  the  Lord."  Exhortation  will  do 
more  than  suspicion.  A  word  of  encouragement  is  what  young 
beginners  in  the  Christian  race  require.  They  are  not  to  be  filled 
with  fear  and  driven  back  by  suggested  doubt  and  difficulty  ;  but 
Barnabas,  the  man  of  the  musical  voice,  because  of  the  musical 
heart,  should  be  found  in  every  Church  saying  to  the  young 
believers,  "  So  far  on  you  are  right,  but  you  are  only  putting  on 
the  armour,  not  putting  it  off — only  beginning  the  fight,  not  en- 
joying the  victory  ;  now  with  full  purpose  of  heart,  with  one  soul, 
one  thought,  one  heart,  cleave  unto  the  Lord,  put  your  arms 
around  him,  and  know  no  other  homage  but  the  worship  of  his 
name."  That  exhortation  is  in  time  in  every  age.  You  who 
gave  your  heart  to  Christ  not  a  week  ago  or  a  month  since — perse- 
vere. Cleave  unto  the  Lord  ;  pray  without  ceasing  ;  watch  day 
and  night.  Look  unto  the  hills  whence  cometh  your  help  ;  let 
the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly. 

Why  did  Barnabas  take  so  much  interest  in  these  new  converts  ? 
The  answer  is  given  in  the  twenty-fourth  verse.  It  is  the  answer 
to  all  such  inquiry,  "  For  he  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith. ' '  Good  men  see  goodness  in  other 
men.  Evil  be  to  him  who  evil  thinks.  From  some  persons  you 
never  get  a  judgment  which  is  not  tinged  with  censoriousness  or 
bitterness,  that  is  not  marked  by  some  flaw  of  half-heartedness  or 
partiality  or  unholy  prejudice.  Their  hopes  are  only  inverted 
fears,  and  their  shake  of  the  hand  is  a  genteel  repulsion.  The 
good  man  comes  to  be  made  glad.  You  have  a  great  work  of 
conviction  to  do  in  his  mind  before  you  can  persuade  him  you  are 
not  as  good  as  he  is.  He  comes  to  be  pleased.  He  says,  ' '  I 
hear  that  there  is  a  revival  in  your  Church,  that  obdurate  hearts  are 
laying  down  their  weapons  of  rebellion.  I  have  come  to  see  this 
great  sight;  the  Lord's  name  be  praised  that  I  do  hear  of  such 
victories,"  Then  with  a  charitable  spirit,  and  benign  and  hopeful 
heart,  he  looks  upon  all  the  work,  and  it  must  be  very  bad  if  he 
do  not  see  in  it  something  to  quicken  his  own  faith,  and  deepen 
his  own  grace,  and  heighten  his  own  love  to  God.      My  brethren, 


272  ACTS  XL  19-30. 


the  pulpit  now  must  be  apologetic,  or  it  cannot  live.  I  would 
therefore  venture  to  ask  in  the  humblest  of  tones  whether  when 
new  converts  come  into  the  Church  they  will  find  in  it  good  men 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith  ?  That  they  will  find  critics, 
and  controversialists,  and  hypocrites,  I  know,  to  some  extent ;  but 
will  they  find  men  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith  ?  Thank 
God  to  that  inquiry  I  can  return  an  emphatic  affirmaiive.  We  owe 
everything  to  the  people  who  encourage  us.  You  owe  very  little 
to  the  man  who  merely  finds  fault  with  you.  What  was  the  con- 
sequence of  the  presence  of  Barnabas  amongst  the  new  converts .? 
So  good  was  he,  so  gracious,  so  representative  of  heavenly  influ- 
ences and  ministries,  that  "  much  people  was  added  unto  the 
Lord. ' '  Barnabas  did  not  go  to  Antioch  for  nothing — the  work 
grew  upon  him,  and  now  he  said,  "  Saul  must  come."  And 
when  he  had  found  him  at  Tarsus,  he  brought  him  to  the  Syrian 
capital,  and  there  for  a  whole  year  they  assembled  themselves  with 
the  Church  and  taught  much  people.  Thus  are  spheres  found  for 
men,  and  thus  have  men  sometimes  to  tarry  at  Tarsus  till  their 
proper  Antioch  is  found.  But  God  will  find  it.  He  will  one  day 
tell  you  that  the  time  is  come  to  break  silence  and  to  preach 
Christ's  Gospel  to  them  that  are  nigh  at  hand  or  afar  off.     . 

Now  comes  another  picture.  "In  these  days  came  prophets 
from  Jerusalem  unto  Antioch.  And  there  stood  up  one  of  them 
named  Agabus,  and  signified  by  the  spirit  that  there  should  be 
great  dearth  throughout  all  the  world."  "  Then  the  disciples, 
every  one  according  to  his  ability,  determined  to  send  relief  unto 
the  brethren  which  dwelt  in  Judsea."  I  know  no  instance  in 
which  the/>r(?<9/"so  speedily  followed  the  argument.  We  wondered 
if  the  men  at  Antioch  were  really  converted.  We  find  in  the 
twenty-ninth  verse  this  proof  of  their  conversion, — "  Then  the  dis- 
ciples, every  man  according  to  his  ability,  determined  to  send  re- 
lief unto — the  brethren  which  dwelt  in  Judaea."  Unto  whom? 
"  The  brethren  which  dwelt  in  Judaea."  Then  their  family  rela- 
tions  had  increased }  Yes ;  marvellously  I  They  were  not 
"  brethren"  a  few  weeks  ago.  What  has  happened  in  the  mean 
time?  The  revelation  of  Christ  m  the  mind  and  heart  has  hap- 
pened 1  These  men  at  Antioch  have  heard  of  the  faith  that  is  in 
Jesus  Christ ;  they  have  received  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  and  instantly  on 
hearing  that  men  who  are  partakers  of  the  same  faith  are  in  pros- 


CALLED   CHRISTIANS.  273 

pect  of  necessity,  they  send  to  such  men  under  the  name  of 
"brethren,"  according  to  their  ability.  This  is  how  Christian- 
ity works.  Here  is  the  communism  of  the  Church.  We  have 
seen  in  these  readings  that  the  formal  communism  soon  broke 
down,  but  the  spiritual  covaxaxim^xa.  must  continue  for  ever. 
Wherever  there  is  Christian  need,  Christian  brotherhood  must  be 
acknowledged.  If  you  have  means,  and  see  your  Christian 
brother  in  the  remotest  corner  of  the  earth  suffering  want,  and  do 
not  send  to  him,  your  Christianity  is  vain.  How  have  the  men 
in  Antioch  and  the  men  in  Judaea  become  brethren .?  By  the 
Cross,  What  did  that  Cross  do  .?  It  broke  down  the  middle  wall 
of  partition.     It  made  the  human  family  one  ! 

These  are  the  two  pictures  in  the  text — the  picture  of  Barnabas 
and  the  picture  of  the  prophet  Agabus.  But  there  is  one  line 
which  I  have  reserved  for  the  last,  ' '  And  the  disciples  were  called 
Christians  first  at  Antioch."  There  is  great  diversity  of  opinion 
as  to  why  this  name  was  given.  Some  say  it  was  given  by  Saul 
and  Barnabas.  Some  say  it  was  given  in  derision  and  scorn,  as 
men  in  our  own  land  have  been  called  Puritans,  Methodists, 
Wesleyans,  and  the  like.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  Christian 
believers  ever  called  themselves  distinctly  Christians.  I  believe  the 
word  Christian  occurs  only  about  three  limes  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. That  is  a  remarkable  circumstance.  Believers  were  called 
brethren,  saints,  disciples,  but  I  am  not  aware  of  any  instance  in 
which  they  distinctly  and  formally  describe  themselves  as  Chris- 
tians. But  however  the  name  was  given,  it  stands  above  all  other 
names  to-day.  It  is  the  supreme  glory  of  human  designation. 
Of  no  man  is  so  much  expected  as  of  the  man  who  is  called  Chris- 
tian, The  man  who  despises  your  faith  expects  from  you  on  its 
account  such  conduct  as  he  expects  from  no  other  man.  So  he 
answers  himself.  He  puts  the  sword  to  his  own  life.  After  hav- 
ing traduced  your  Lord,  and  disproved  your  documents,  and  cast 
scorn  and  contempt  on  the  whole  circle  of  your  theology,  if  you 
do  anything  that  calls  down  his  displeasure  he  is  the  first  and  the 
bitterest  to  accuse  of  treason  to  the  faith  you  profess.  I  ask  for 
no  higher  intellectual  and  moral  recognition  of  the  purity  of  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  From  no  atheist  is  so  much  expected  as 
from  the  weakest  Christian.  When  you,  a  Christian,  do  anything 
wrong,  the  mocker  knows  how  to  mock  vou  with  the   bitterest 


274  ACTS  XL  19-30. 


taunt  and  scorn.  He  charges  you  with  hypocrisy,  with  degener- 
acy, with  unfaithfulness,  whereas,  if  his  own  argument  were  really 
believed  by  his  own  heart,  he  would  congratulate  you  :  he  would 
say,  "  Now,  this  is  freedom  from  superstition  ;  now  you  have 
freed  yourself  from  the  principles  which  are  gathered  up  in  the 
hated  name  of  Christ."  The  enemy  always  puts  an  end  to  his 
own  life.  The  more  we  allow  him  to  do  so  the  more  leisure  we 
shall  have  for  the  affirmative  declaration  of  Christian  faith. 

By  Christians  I  understand  Christ  followers,  Christ  lovers, 
Christ  worshippers,  Christ-ones.  It  is  a  thousand  pities,  in  one 
aggravation  of  distress,  that  such  a  name  should  have  been  de- 
based, commercialized,  and  made  the  password  to  unworthy  con- 
fidence and  honour.  Were  we  what  we  ought  to  be  in  integrity, 
in  simplicity,  and  in  equity  of  soul,  there  should  be  no  nobler 
designation  known  amongst  men,  and  no  other  should  be  needed. 
Roman  Catholics,  Protestants,  Episcopalians,  Congregationalists, 
Presbyterians — what  are  they,  and  how  have  they  come  to  have 
any  existence  at  all,  and  especially  any  honor  as  names .?  Did 
Christ  ever  use  them  }  The  one  name  that  we  ought  to  have  is 
Christian,  meaning  by  that  a  man  who  takes  Jesus  Christ  as  his 
Lord,  Saviour,  Priest,  Pattern,  Inspiration.  Could  we  restore 
that  definition  of  the  now  perverted  term,  no  name  known  under 
heaven  amongst  men  could  be  such  a  warranty  of  conduct  and 
such  a  seal  of  dignity. 


XXXI. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  know  not  what  we  read  in  thy  book  except  thou 
dost  teach  us  its  meaning  by  thy  Spirit.  We  have  heard  the  letter  and 
its  music  is  in  our  ears,  but  we  would  hear  the  inner  meaning  of  every 
word  spoken  to  the  heart  itself,  then  shall  we,  though  on  earth,  be  really 
in  heaven.  Thy  word  is  the  same  there  as  it  is  here,  only  we  do  not 
read  it  well.  We  know  not  all  its  compass.  We  do  not  yield  ourselves 
with  thankful  delight  to  the  sway  and  inspiration  of  its  infinite  music. 
We  are  children  of  the  world.  We  are  travellers  who  have  chosen  the 
night  for  our  pilgrimage.  We  are  not  children  of  the  day,  flowers  of 
the  noontide,  lovers  of  glory  cloudless  and  eternal.  Thou  can  make  us 
such  in  Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son.  our  Saviour,  and  by  him  alone.  Deliver 
us  from  this  delight  in  darkness,  and  make  us  by  the  indwelling  Holy 
Ghost  children  of  the  morning,  with  eyes  that  delight  to  drink  in  the  glory 
of  noontide.  We  know  not  the  meaning  of  our  life.  We  would  crowd 
immortality  into  mortality,  and  the  miracle  is  beyond  our  little  strength. 
We  would  satisfy  the  infinite  with  the  finite,  and  thus  do  we  live  foolishly 
before  God.  Show  us  in  Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son,  that  we  were  meant  to 
lay  hold  of  that  which  is  unseen,  and  beyond,  and  immeasurable,  and 
Divine.  Thus  may  we,  as  followers  of  the  Lord,  have  our  conversation 
in  heaven,  and  may  we  bear  upon  the  whole  life  that  we  live  proofs  that 
our  citizenship  is  on  high.  We  are  weary  oftentimes  because  our  life  is 
frail.  We  break  down  in  great  unmanly  tears  because  we  cannot  reach 
the  things  that  are  too  high  for  us.  We  are  fretted  and  chafed  by  vexa- 
tions to  which  we  should  pay  no  heed  were  we  really  living  in  the  sanc- 
tuary of  thy  peace.  But  the  world  is  rough,  and  time  is  like  a  cold  wind 
blowing  through  our  days  and  carrying  them  away,  and  the  very  earth 
yields  under  our  footstep  and  becomes  a  grave  into  which  we  fall.  Such 
is  the  mystery  of  this  breathing.  Sometimes  we  would  we  were  but 
beasts  of  the  field,  eating  their  grass,  and  dying  at  night.  Thou  hast 
stirred  us  with  marvellous  inspiration,  and  caused  angels  to  touch  us  in 
the  night  season,  and  call  us  away  into  liberty  and  renewed  service,  and 
all  heaven  seems  to  be  busy  about  us.  Why  this  movement  of  the  soul  ? 
Why  this  joyous  trouble  ?  Why  this  triumphant  agony  ?  Surely  thou 
didst  make  us  in  thine  own  image  and  likeness,  and  we  have  lost  our 
glory.  Thou  art  saving  us  by  the  Cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Thou 
hast  sent  him  as  the  Good  Shepherd  to  bring  us  home  again.  May  he 
find  us  every  one,  and  take  us  home  this  day.     Regard,  %ve  pray,  all  who 


276  ACTS  XII.  i-ii. 


are  now  bent  before  thee  at  the  sacred  altar,  and  receive  from  each  heart 
its  hymn  of  praise.  Our  houses  are  thine,  and  they  are  homes  and  sanc- 
tuaries, because  thy  blessing  rests  upon  the  roof.  The  children  all  are 
thine,  and  thou  dost  ask  an  account  of  them  at  every  sun-set.  And  the 
sick  ones,  who  would  come  out  if  they  could,  who  long  to  be  here,  are  all 
thy  patients,  thou  Physician  of  men.  And  the  prodigals,  whose  empty 
chairs  at  the  table  trouble  us,  and  whose  unpressed  pillows  are  witnesses 
against  them,  are  surely  thine  also.  Thou  wilt  not  forget  them.  They 
make  us  pray.  They  compel  us  to  be  trustful  and  uplooking  and  piously 
expectant  ;  but  for  them  we  might  make  life  one  foolish  game,  and  the 
days  a  succession  of  empty  jests,  but  they  drag  us  down  and  then  lift  us 
up.  Look  upon  thy  servants  who  are  in  business,  and  %vho  make  too 
much  of  it,  who  do  not  get  hold  of  it  aright,  and  to  whom  it  is  a  tempta- 
tion, a  snare,  and  a  long  mockery.  Show  them  how  to  lay  hold  of  it  with 
their  ten  fingers,  without  one  fibre  of  their  hearts  ever  touching  it.  And 
the  Lord  rule  the  Nations.  Himself  be  on  the  throne,  and  let  all  lower 
monarchs  draw  their  breath  from  his  sovereignty.  Be  with  all  thy  ser- 
vants to-day  ;  the  minister  in  the  pulpit,  the  teacher  in  his  class,  breaking 
bread  for  the  little  ones,  and  teaching  opening  minds  the  truth  of  God 
and  Christ  ;  with  the  visitor  to  the  sick,  with  the  missionary  to  the  out- 
cast, and  with  all  who  in  any  wise  shall  endeavor  to  do  good.  And  at 
night  when  we  sing  our  closing  hymn  amid  the  gathering  darkness,  may 
we  hear  a  voice,  saying,  "  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war,  and  the  victory  this 
day  is  in  his  hands."     Amen. 

Acts  xii.  1-11. 

1.  Now  about  that  time  Herod  the  king  [the  son  of  Aristobulus  and 
Bernice,  grandson  of  Herod  the  Great]  stretched  forth  his  hands  to  vex 
certain  of  the  church. 

2.  And  he  killed  James  [Matt.  xii.  23]  the  brother  of  John  with  the 
sword. 

3.  And  because  he  saw  it  pleased  the  Jews  [the  ruling  policy  of  the 
Herodian  house],  he  proceeded  further  to  take  Peter  also.  (Then  were 
the  days  of  unleavened  bread)  [about  the  end  of  March  or  the  beginning 
of  April]. 

4.  And  when  he  had  apprehended  him,  he  put  him  in  prison,  and 
delivered  him  to  four  quaternions  of  soldiers  to  keep  him  ;  intending  after 
Easter  [after  the  Passover]  to  bring  him  forth  to  the  people. 

5.  Peter  therefore  was  kept  in  prison  :  but  prayer  was  made  without 
ceasing  of  the  church  unto  God  for  him. 

6.  And  when  Herod  would  have  brought  him  forth,  the  same  night 
Peter  was  sleeping  between  two  soldiers,  bound  with  two  chains  :  and 
the  keepers  before  the  door  kept  the  prison. 

7.  And,  behold,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him,  and  a  light 
shined  in  the  prison  [the  chamber  or  dwelling]  :  and  he  smote  Peter  on 


THE  ALL-DISPOSING  POWER.  277 

the  side,  and  raised  him  up,  saying.  Arise  up  quickly.  And  his  chains 
fell  off  from  his  hands. 

8.  And  ihe  angel  said  unto  him.  Gird  thyself,  and  bind  on  thy  sandals. 
And  so  he  did.  And  he  saith  unto  him,  Cast  thy  garment  about  thee, 
and  follow  me. 

g.  And  he  went  out,  and  followed  him  ;  and  wist  not  that  it  was  true 
which  was  done  by  the  angel  ;  but  thought  he  saw  a  vision. 

ID.  When  they  were  past  the  first  and  the  second  ward  [shewing  that 
Peter  had  been  placed  in  the  innermost  dungeon],  they  came  unto  the  iron 
[a  touch  of  precision  characteristic  of  Luke]  gate  that  leadeth  unto  the 
city  ;  which  opened  to  them  of  his  own  accord  :  and  they  went  out,  and 
passed  on  through  one  street  [the  word  implies  narrowness]  ;  and  forth- 
with the  angel  departed  from  him. 

II.  And  when  Peter  was  come  to  himself,  he  said,  Now  I  know  of  a 
surety,  that  the  Lord  hath  sent  his  angel,  and  hath  delivered  me  out  of 
the  hand  of  Herod,  and  from  all  the  expectation  of  the  people  of  the 
Jews. 

PETER  DELIVERED. 

"  "XT  OW  about  that  time" — we  know  that  troubles  never  come 
1  1  alone.  We  know  well  what  the  ' '  time' '  was  which  is 
referred  to,  for  it  came  under  our  notice  in  our  last  study.  A 
time  of  famine  was  prophesied.  There  was  to  be  great  dearth, 
and  great  suffering  was  to  be  occasioned  by  that  dearth  of  food. 
Whilst  the  Church  was  put  in  charge  of  this  prediction,  and  had 
already  begun  to  contribute  towards  the  relief  of  the  brethren, 
"  about  THAT  time  Herod  the  king  stretched  forth  his  hands  to 
vex  certain  of  the  Church. ' '  Famine  might  kill  them  slowly  ;  he 
would  find  a  quicker  way  !  All  ways  of  destruction  are  pleasant 
to  the  destroyer's  mind.  Only  let  his  opponents  die,  whether  by 
famine  or  by  sword,  and  he  is  satisfied.  What  is  the  Mystery 
above  us  which  allows  such  things  1  How  well  it  would  have 
been  when  Herod  ' '  stretched  forth  his  hand ' '  to  have  kept  it 
there  so  that  he  could  never  take  it  into  his  side  again  !  Such 
would  be  our  way  many  a  time  of  dealing  with  antagonists  and 
enemies.  God  takes  in  more  field  ;  his  thought  has  a  wider 
compass,  and  he  needs  more  time  for  the  exemplification  of  his 
purpose. 

"  He  killed  James,  the  brother  of  John,  with  the  sword." 
This  was  not  a  Jewish  method  of  killing  people.  If  James  had 
been   tried   by   the   regular  Jewish    Court,    and   had   been   found 


278  ACTS  XII.  i-ii. 


guilty,  he  would  have  been  stoned  to  death.  But  what  is  crime 
of  the  higher  sort  if  it  cannot  be  inventive  ?  What  if  a  king  can- 
not overleap  a  hedge  and  take  a  short  cut  to  the  consummation  of 
his  purpose  !  Beheading  is  quicker  than  stoning  !  Possibly  the 
law  may  be  dishonoured  by  the  use  of  the  sword,  or  by  the  adop- 
tion of  eccentric  and  unusual  methods,  but  the  indignation  of  the 
wicked  cannot  wait.  It  needs  no  further  condemnation.  Its  im- 
patience is  the  seal  of  its  iniquity.  Justice  eternal,  impartial, 
divine,  can  wait.  It  never  misses  its  aim  !  Though  hand  join  in 
hand,  the  wicked  cannot  go  unpunished.  There  is  no  counsel 
against  the  Almighty  !  Let  the  wicked  man  take  what  methods 
he  may,  in  every  method  which  he  adopts  you  will  find  the  seal 
of  its  infamy.  Having  performed  this  trick  of  cruelty,  Herod  saw 
that  "  it  pleased  the  Jews,"  and  he  proceeded  further.  That  is 
the  natural  history  of  wickedness  !  It  is  self-impelling.  It  gath- 
ers momentum  as  it  goes.  You  cannot  stop  with  one  murder. 
You  get  into  the  trick  of  it  ;  you  acquire  the  bad  skill,  and  your 
fingers  become  nimble  in  the  use  of  cruel  weapons.  Murder  does 
not  look  so  ghastly  when  you  have  done  it  once.  How  many 
people  have  you  murdered  .?  You  think  of  murder  as  blood-shed- 
ding ;  murder  is  heart-breaking ;  life-blighting ;  hope-destroying ! 
How  many  people  have  you  murdered  .?  How  many  are  you 
murdering  to-day  at  home  P  "  He  proceeded  further."  The  one 
glass  needs  another  (it  says)  to  keep  it  company.  Crimes  do  not 
like  solittide — they  like  companionship  ;  and  so  one  crime  leads  to 
another,  and  wickedness  is  self-multiplied.  Remember  the 
words,  "  He  proceeded  further  !"  You  do  not  find  God's  amaze- 
ment in  the  completion  of  a  thousand  sins  ;  you  find  his  astonish- 
ment in  \}i\Q  first  sin.  If  you  can  do  otie  sin,  the  whole  life  is  lost. 
We  are  not  thieves  because  of  a  thousand  thefts  ;  we  are  not  liars 
because  of  a  thousand  lies,  or  murderers  because  of  a  thousand 
homicides  ;  we  find  our  criminality  in  the  opening  sin.  Therefore, 
what  I  say  unto  one,  I  say  unto  all,  "  Watch  !" 

"  Because  he  saw  it  pleased  the  Jews."  There  are  those  who 
like  to  see  you  play  the  fool  and  the  criminal,  and  will  hurrah 
you  and  acclaim  you,  and  when  the  constable  comes  for  you  they 
will  flee  away  !  Why  should  you  be  killing  other  people  to  please 
the  onlookers  ?  What  will  lliey  do  for  you  in  the  critical  hour  >. 
All  the  while  Hergd  thought  he  was  king,  and  yet   "because  he 


A   PITCHED  BATTLE. 


279 


saw  it  pleased  the  Jews  he  proceeded  further. ' '  King  in  name, 
slave  in  reality  !  What  contradictions  there  are  in  social  life,  and 
in  official  terms  !  Sometimes  the  Judge  has  been  the  prisoner. 
Sometimes  the  conqueror  has  been  the  loser.  Sometimes,  as  in 
this  instance,  the  king  in  name,  branch  of  a  blasted  tree  whose 
roots  were  warmed  in  hell,  was  slave.  He  lived  upon  the  popular 
pleasure.  Whatever  pleased  the  people  he  was  willing  to  do. 
Therein  he  tarnished  his  crown,  and  sold  his  kingdom,  and  lost 
his  soul  ! 

In  the  fifth  verse  there  is  a  pitched  battle.  Read  it  : — "  Peter 
therefore  was  kept  in  prison  " :  there  is  one  side  of  the  fight ;  after 
the  colon — "  but  prayer  was  made  without  ceasing  of  the  Church 
unto  God  for  him."  Now  for  the  shock  of  arms  !  Who  wins? 
It  is  the  battle  of  history.  It  is  a  field  on  which  the  universe  gazes 
with  conflicting  feeling.  Prayer  always  wins.  You  can  only  be  of 
a  contrary  opinion  when  you  take  in  too  little  field.  There  is  no 
action  of  any  importance  that  is  bounded  by  a  single  day.  It  is 
out  of  death  that  life  comes.  Even  the  darkness  is  thick  sown 
with  the  seed  of  light.  Such  prayer  as  we  read  of  in  the  fifth  verse 
is  irrepressible.  The  prayers  you  could  keep  down  if  you  liked 
will  never  be  answered.  Any  prayer  that  could  have  been  stifled 
has  not  force  enough  to  reach  the  heavens.  How  to  treat  irrepres- 
sible prayers  !  No  answer  has  been  given  to  that  inquiry.  The 
controversies  have  waged  round  such  prayer  as  might  not  have 
been  spoken — cold,  lifeless,  hopeless,  pointless,  prayerless  prayer  ; 
a  religious  skeleton  J  I  want  to  hear  what  men  have  to  say  about 
the  prayers  I  cannot  help  praying — that  will  come  out  of  the  soul 
— and  in  daring  fashion  sound  for  themselves  all  the  places  of  the 
universe  till  they  knock  against  the  Heart  that  opens  like  the  door 
of  home.  If  you  are  disputing  about  a  prayer  of  words  I  would 
join  you  in  condemning  it,  but  that  is  not  the  subject ;  it  is  the 
prayer  you  breathe  in  sigh,  or  troubled  cry,  or  shout  of  violence, 
when  the  dear  life  is  being  taken,  when  there  is  but  one  inch  of 
blue  in  the  sky,  and  that  is  fast  closing  ;  when  the  prodigal  will 
not  come  in  !  Such  praying  does  not  admit  of  literal  criticism. 
It  cannot  be  written  down,  it  cannot  be  argued  out  of  the  life  ; 
when  the  skilful  disputant  has  completed  his  incoherent  appeal, 
the  heart  untouched  rushes  in  eager  haste  to  seek  or  make  a  God  I 


28o  ACTS  XII.  i-ii. 


The  miracle  is  eternally  true  in  all  that  is  worth  being  true.  Is 
it  not  foolish  on  our  part  and  most  self-impoverishing  to  be  direct- 
ing faithless  inquiry  towards  incidental  points  and  omitting  the 
central  and  abiding  quantity  ?  All  the  miracles  are  true.  They 
have  counterparts  in  our  own  life,  and  therefore  we  have  no  doubt 
about  their  truth.  The  points  to  which  critical  scepticism  is 
directed  are  really  not  parts  of  the  miracle.  They  are  but  acces- 
sories, illustrations,  helps,  or  points  enkindled  to  make  the  story 
more  graphic  and  memorable.  I  know  of  no  miracle  in  all  the 
Bible  that  I  have  not  personally  lived,  therefore  it  is  useless  for  any 
man  who  has  not  lived  them  to  endeavour  to  persuade  me  that 
they  are  not  true.  I  have  been  exactly  in  the  condition  described 
in  this  miracle,  and  so  have  you.  Why  dispute  about  the  vessel 
instead  of  eating  the  bread  which  it  holds  }  What  have  we  in  this 
miracle.-*  First  of  all,  we  have  last  extremities.  "The  same 
night,  when  Herod  would  have  brought  him  forth,  Peter  was 
sleeping  between  two  soldiers."  Have  we  not  been  in  that  very 
same  darkness,  my  brethren  ?  When  we  were  to  have  been  killed 
the  next  day  I  Not  when  we  were  to  be  injured,  or  impoverished, 
or  torn  to  pieces  seven  years  from  date,  but  when  the  catastrophe 
was  to  occur  as  soon  as  the  next  day  dawned  ?  Have  we  not  some- 
times counted  two  or  three  things  that  were  left,  and  said,  ' '  Be- 
yond these  we  have  nothing  V  Have  we  not  sometimes  taken  up 
the  pieces  of  the  one  loaf  and  said,  "This  is  all  V  Have  we  not 
sometimes  gone  out  of  the  house,  leaving  wife  and  children  behind, 
with  a  great  sob  in  the  throat,  feeling  that  if  we  did  not  succeed 
this  day  we  must  give  it  all  up  }  So  far  then  you  have  no  diffi- 
culty about  the  miracle.  In  the  next  place  we  have  appearances 
dead  against  us.  Thus — two  soldiers,  two  chains,  and  the  keepers 
keeping  the  door  before  the  prison  !  Why  these  were  compliments 
to  Peter  !  The  devil  cannot  avoid  paying  us  compliments  all  the 
time  he  is  trying  to  destroy  us.  There  is  an  involuntary  homage 
to  the  very  Deity  he  mocks  !  Why  keep  such  a  man,  in  such  a 
case,  between  two  soldiers,  bound  with  two  chains,  and  the  keep- 
ers keeping  the  door  before  the  prison  ?  Why  all  this  arrange- 
ment about  a  man  like  Peter.?  Why  all  these  temptations  ad- 
dressed to  a  man  like  one  of  us  ?  Why  these  deadly  attacks,  why 
these  continual  repetitions,  why  these  suggestions,  and  seductions, 
and  lures,  and  charms,  and  bribes,  and  why  this  waiting  through 


COMING    TO  HIMSELF.  281 

all  the  dreary  night  ?  It  is  a  reluctant  but  significant  tribute  to 
the  character  whose  destruction  is  contemplated.  Have  not  ap- 
pearances been  dead  against  us  ?  No  letters,  no  friends,  no  an- 
swer to  the  last  appeal,  no  more  energy,  no  more  hope,  the  last 
staff  snapped  in  two.  So  far  the  miracle  is  true.  In  the  third 
place  we  have  unexpected  deliverers.  Have  we  no  experience  here  P 
Is  it  not  always  the  unexpected  man  who  delivers  and  cheers  us  } 
"  But  a  certain  Samaritan  came  where  he  was,"  that  is  the  whole 
history  of  human  deliverance  in  on  graphic  sentence.  Have  you 
been  unexpectedly  delivered  from  accumulating  and  threatening 
embarrassment  ?  Has  not  one  of  your  own  proverbists  said, 
"  Man's  extremity  is  God's  opportunity."  Hath  not  one  of  your 
own  poets  said,  "  It  is  always  darkest  before  the  dawn  ?"  and  shall 
other  men  have  their  proverbs  and  their  poems  about  unexpected 
deliverance,  and  the  Christian  be  silent  in  the  Church  when  such 
miracles  are  challenged  .?  All  our  life  properly  read  is  a  chain  of 
unexpectedness.  Deliverance  shall  arise  from  an  unthought-of 
quarter  !  We  cheer  men,  not  because  of  a  gracious  sentiment  only, 
but  because  of  a  time-long  history,  solid  as  the  rocks  on  which 
your  towns  and  towers  are  built.  In  the  fourth  place,  we  have 
spiritual  transport.  Peter  said,  "  Now  I  know  of  a  surety  that  the 
Lord  hath  sent  his  angel,  and  hath  delivered  me  out  of  the  hand 
of  Herod,  and  from  all  the  expectation  of  the  people  of  the  Jews." 
Have  we  no  special  hymns .?  Has  laughter  not  rushed  into  our 
mouth  suddenly  like  an  unbidden  but  most  welcome  guest  ? 
Have  we  not  sometimes  taken  down  our  harp  from  the  willows 
and  struck  it  to  some  new  tone  of  joy  and  gladness  and  hope  ? 
Peter  did  not  understand  this  miracle  at  first.  He  thought  he  saw 
a  vision.  He  ' '  wist  not  that  it  was  true' '  in  the  mere  sense  of  a 
fact,  "which  was  done  by  the  angel."  "And  when  Peter  w^as 
come  to  himself  he  said" — that  is  the  point  we  must  wait  for. 
We  are  not  "ourselves"  just  now.  A  thousand  winds  are  breath- 
ing in  our  head  and  through  our  life — stormy  winds,  musical 
winds — and  we  cannot  yet  catch  and  determine  the  whole  har- 
mony. Our  eyes  are  dazed  by  cross  lights  ;  the  light  is  coming 
from  every  point,  and  we  cannot  see  things  in  their  right  propor- 
tion, distance,  and  colour.  We  are  not  "ourselves"  just  now,  I 
repeat.  Do  not  let  us  imagine  that  we  are  now  speaking  yfwa/ 
words  or  giving /««/  judgments.      For  my  own  part,   in  this  great 


282  ACTS  XII  I -I  I. 


universe  I  see  men  as  trees  walking.  Innumerable  visions  float 
before  my  wondering  eyes.  The  righteous  are  trodden  down  in 
the  streets,  the  man  of  integrity  has  not  where  to  lay  his  head  ; 
the  bad  man  has  a  plentiful  table,  and  his  fields  are  so  rich  that 
his  barns  must  be  enlarged.  The  little  child  that  has  never  said 
"mother,"  is  torn  from  its  mother's  arms  ;  graves  a  foot  long, 
and  no  more,  are  dug  in  the  daisied  earth.  What  is  it  ?  When 
we  are  COME  TO  OURSELVES  we  shall  know  and  praise  the 
Lord,  whose  angels  have  been  our  ministering  servants  I 


XXXII. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  is  not  our  whole  life  a  vision  ?  We  have  not  yet  had 
time  to  consider  the  matter.  We  are  still  in  the  waking  dream,  and  still 
we  see  men  as  trees  walking.  We  cannot  tell  what  we  look  upon,  when 
we  have  had  time  to  consider  the  matter  we  shall  flee  into  the  sanctuary, 
and  tell  the  tale  of  thy  wondrous  providence.  We  bless  thee  for  visions. 
These  dreams  make  us  greater,  we  should  be  poor  without  them,  but  with 
them  we  are  exceeding  rich.  We  have  seen,  the  future,  our  souls  have 
lived  it  ;  how  blue  its  skies,  how  green  its  gardens,  how  full  of  life  its 
sunny  air  !  Thou  hast  revealed  these  things  unto  us  by  thy  Spirit,  and 
we  are  glad  of  the  revelation,  for  it  makes  us  strong  when  the  immediate 
tumult  would  make  us  weak.  Thy  Christ  shall  have  the  heathen  for  his 
possession,  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  shall  be  his  to  reign  over  in 
all  the  sweet  kingliness  of  his  grace.  He  has  redeemed  the  world,  the 
signature  of  his  blood  is  upon  it,  and  he  will  claim  his  own  ;  not  one 
blade  of  grass  shall  be  lost,  not  one  hair  of  one  head  shall  be  forgotten 
in  the  great  audit  of  thy  kingdom.  Thy  Cross,  oh  living  Christ,  shall  save 
the  world,  and  the  red  drops  of  thy  heart's  blood  shall  follow  the  most 
secret  sin,  and  cleanse  it  for  ever.  The  grave  shall  give  up  its  dead.  In 
the  new  earth  there  shall  be  no  tomb,  in  the  new  heavens  there  shall 
gather  no  storm,  in  the  new  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  farewell.  This  is 
the  revelation  made  to  man  in  Christ  thy  Son,  our  Saviour,  the  Priest  of 
the  universe.  It  will  surely  live  and  shine  upon  the  eyes  of  men  when 
all  their  forecasts  are  forgotten.  We  love  the  Saviour  with  our  hearts' 
undivided  love,  and  because  v/e  love  him,  we  love  all  beautiful  things, 
and  all  things  that  may  be  redeemed.  This  great  love  fills  us  with  many 
fragments  of  love,  so  that  we  bless  the  little,  and  the  feeble,  and  the  out 
of  the  way,  with  a  force  and  grandeur  of  blessing  otherwise  impossible. 
We  would  live  in  Christ  until  we  become  as  beautiful  as  himself  ;  the  last 
wrinkle  taken  away,  the  last  spot  of  evil  removed,  the  last  vanity 
destroj'ed  ;  and  the  whole  work  finished  by  the  touch  of  his  own  hands. 
Help  us  to  live  in  the  inspiration  of  the  hope  that  this  shall  yet  be  done. 
Lifting  us  up  from  the  dust  where  we  have  been  sitting  too  long,  take 
away  from  us  the  rags  of  our  vanity,  and  the  whole  clothing  of  our  shame, 
and  upon  us  do  thou  set  the  beautiful  garments  of  holiness.  Bless  us  all 
as  meeting  together  in  one  place,  for  one  purpose,  and  from  thy  blessing 
let  there  be  no  excluded  heart.     Give  the  preacher  power  to  speak  great 


284  ACTS  XII.  12-2 s. 


words  full  of  healing,  melting  with  tenderness,  inspired  with  more  than 
they  themselves  can  utter.  Give  his  words  background  and  horizon,  and 
height  and  illumination  from  every  point  of  life,  and  when  they  are 
uttered  may  men  feel  stiired,  comforted,  uplifted,  crowned  from  above. 
Let  the  family  be  precious  to  thee.  Do  not  break  up  the  house.  Yet 
thou  art  always  threatening  to  dissolve  the  family.  Thou  hast  taken  away 
the  head  whose  incoming  was  like  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  thou  hast 
taken  away  the  mother  whose  smile  brought  back  all  hope  and  rest.  Out 
of  the  right  hand  thou  hast  taken  the  staff,  and  the  left  hand  thou  hast 
smitten  with  numbness,  and  thou  hast  put  thorns  in  the  pillow  and  made 
the  night  sevenfold  in  darkness,  and  yet  wherein  we  have  said,  "  It  is 
the  Lord,  let  him  do  what  seemeth  best  in  his  sight."  Thou  hast  been  to 
us  husband,  and  wife,  and  brother,  and  sister,  and  little  child,  all  in  all, 
and  thou  hast  lifted  us  up  to  a  point  whence  we  could  see  those  who  are 
not  lost  but  gone  before.  Thou  wilt  dry  up  the  Jordan  for  us,  and  the 
wilderness  shall  be  carpeted  with  green  sward,  and  the  rocks  shall  be 
beautiful  as  gardens  lifted  up  in  the  sunlight.  This  is  our  hope  in  Christ, 
this  is  our  song  in  the  night-time,  this  is  the  well  at  which  we  drink,  this 
is  the  rock  in  whose  cooling  shadow  we  sit  down  at  noontide.     Amen. 

Acts  xii.  12-25. 

12.  And  when  he  had  considered  the  thing,  he  came  to  the  house  of 
Mary  the  mother  of  John,  whose  surname  was  Mark  ;  where  many  were 
gathered  together  praying. 

13.  And  as  Peter  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  gate,  a  damsel  came  to 
hearken,  named  Rhoda. 

14.  And  when  she  knew  Peter's  voice,  she  opened  not  the  gate  for 
gladness,  but  ran  in,  and  told  how  Peter  stood  before  the  gate. 

15.  And  they  said  unto  her.  Thou  art  mad.  But  she  constantly  affirmed 
that  it  was  even  so.     Then  said  they.  It  is  his  angel. 

16.  But  Peter  continued  knocking  :  and  when  they  had  opened  the 
door,  and  saw  him,  they  were  astonished. 

17.  But  he,  beckoning  unto  them  with  the  hand  to  hold  their  peace, 
declared  unto  them  how  the  Lord  had  brought  him  out  of  the  prison. 
And  he  said.  Go  shew  these  things  unto  James,  and  to  the  brethren. 
And  he  departed,  and  went  into  another  place. 

18.  Now  as  soon  as  it  was  day,  there  was  no  small  stir  among  the 
soldiers,  what  was  become  of  Peter. 

19.  And  when  Herod  had  sought  for  him,  and  found  him  not,  he 
examined  the  keepers,  and  commanded  that  they  should  be  put  to  death. 
And  he  went  down  from  Judea  to  Cacsarea,  and  there  abode. 

20.  And  Herod  was  highly  displeased  with  them  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  : 
but  they  came  with  one  accord  to  him,  and,  having  made  Blastus  the 
king's  chamberlain  their  friend,  desired  peace  ;  because  their  country  was 
nourished  by  the  king's  country. 


CONSIDERATION.  285 


21.  And  upon  a  set  day  Herod,  arrayed  in  royal  apparel,  sat  upon  his 
throne,  and  made  an  oration  unto  them. 

22.  And  the  people  gave  a  shout,  saying,  It  is  the  voice  of  a  god,  and 
not  of  a  man. 

23.  And  immediately  the  angel  of  the  Lord  smote  him,  because  he  gave 
not  God  the  glory  :  and  he  was  eaten  of  worms,  and  gave  up  the  ghost. 

24.  But  the  word  of  God  grew  and  multiplied. 

25.  And  Barnabas  and  Saul  returned  from  Jerusalem,  when  they  had 
fulfilled  their  ministry,  and  took  with  them  John,  whose  surname  was 
Mark. 

PETER'S  FINAL  APPEARANCE. 

THERE  is  a  word  in  the  twelfth  verse  which  is  the  keyword 
of  a  wise  Hfe.  If  people  would  not  speak  until  they  had 
carried  out  the  meaning  of  that  small  word  there  would  be  much 
silence,  and  there  would  be  much  wisdom.  The  word  is  "  con- 
sidered. ' '  What  is  it  to  consider  }  It  is  to  put  things  together. 
To  modify  one  thing  by  another,  to  bring  things  into  right  rela- 
tion, to  set  them  back  at  the  right  distance,  to  view  them  in  the 
right  colour,  to  weigh,  to  measure,  to  add  up,  and  thus  to  form  a 
broad  and  solid  conclusion.  That  is  what  yoti  have  never  done 
in  your  life  probably.  We  leap  at  things.  We  have  no  interme- 
diate process  of  thinking  and  relating  one  thing  to  another  ;  ours 
is  not  a  task  of  chain-making,  it  is  often  a  leap  in  the  dark.  Life 
will  bear  to  be  "  considered  "  because  life  is  full  of  mystery  ;  it  is 
always  changing.  The  four  seasons  of  the  year  sometimes  all  as- 
semble together  in  one  brief  hour  ;  we  are  chilled  and  sweltered 
in  one  transient  moment  ;  shew  your  religiousness  not  by  the 
cleverness  of  an  instantaneous  conclusion  but  by  the  calm  constdcr- 
alion  of  things  which  are  not  what  they  seem.  If  you  "  consider" 
life  under  the  impression  that  it  is  a  measurable  quantity,  that  it 
can  all  be  seen  at  once,  that  it  is  a  superficies  and  not  a  cube, 
you  will  live  the  days  of  the  foolish.  Ever}'thing  that  happens  in 
life  belongs  to  everything  else.  He  who  "  considers"  the  matter, 
loses  the  spirit  of  impatience  and  gathers  into  his  soul  the  spirits 
of  rest  and  hope  and  music.  Wise  consideration  may  escape  the 
agony  of  transient  enthusiasm  but  it  enjoys  the  repose  of  con- 
tinual peace.  Your  house  is  dark  to-day,  and  in  its  darkness  you 
may  easily  stumble.  Know  you  not  that  the  angel  has  been  there 
and  has  touched  your  companion  on  the  side,  and  said,  "  Come 


286  ACTS  XII.  12-25. 


away"?  Presently  you  will  see  the  matter  more  clearly.  Con- 
sider xi.  Put  things  together  ;  rebuke  the  spirit  of  impetuosity 
and  distrust,  and  say,  "  The  Lord  reigneth,  and  because  he  is 
Lord,  nothing  in  his  empire  can  be  overlooked  or  lost." 

A  very  human  incident  next  occurs.  When  Peter  "  had  con- 
sidered the  thing,  he  came  to  the  house  of  Mary  the  mother  of 
John,  whose  surname  was  Mark."  Why  did  he  not  runaway.-* 
Why  did  not  thoughts  of  Herod  darken  his  mind  t  He  knew 
that  Herod  was  an  evil  branch  of  an  evil  tree,  and  that  no  Herod 
ever  did  one  noble  deed.  Why  did  he  not  flee  away  ?  Peter  was 
faithful  now  ;  he  went  back  to  church.  In  those  days  the  church 
was  in  the  house ;  a  little  church,  but  not  therefore  the  less  a 
church,  true  in  its  life  and  in  its  constitution.  Peter  went  back 
to  the  old  nest.  Peter  sought  the  old  companionship.  Peter 
knew  where  his  native  language,  the  language  of  regeneration  was 
spoken,  he  knew  where  the  vision  could  be  related  and  in  a  meas- 
ure understood.  We  never  know  how  precious  the  Church  is 
until  we  have  been  among  the  heathen  awhile.  Six  months  spent 
in  Herod's  jail,  and  then  how  inviting  the  church,  the  litde  church 
in  the  village,  the  ill-built  church  up  the  dark  passage,  where  the 
hymns  are  sung  to  broken  tunes  with  broken  voices  !  How 
sweet,  how  restful,  how  jubilant  !  We  should  enjoy  our  churches 
more  if  Herod  had  more  to  do  with  us.  The  best  preparation  for 
simple  bread  is  long-continued  hunger.  Peter  went  to  the  prayer- 
meeting. 

Yet  a  still  more  human  incident  now  takes  place.  The  people 
disbelieved  the  answer  to  their  own  praj'er  !  When  Rhoda  said, 
' '  Peter  stands  at  the  gate, ' '  they  said,  who  were  praying,  ' '  thou 
art  mad  !"  Truly  we  are  in  the  succession  of  that  Church  1  Who 
ever  expects  to  have  his  prayers  answered  P  Because  we  are  so 
vague  about  the  prayer,  heaven  may  be  equally  vague  about  the 
reply.  Who  looks  for  answers,  who  keeps  Rhoda  on  the  watch 
saying,  "  Look  out  whilst  we  look  up  and  tell  us  when  thou  dost 
see  the  answer  coming?"  A  little  more  anxiety  about  \\\q  reply 
would  give  accent  and  fervour  to  our  petitions  and  would  move 
the  all-pitying  Father  to  more  definite  communications.  I  am  less 
anxious  that  people  should  pray,  than  that  they  should  look  for 
answers  to  their  prayers.  Is  it  right  to  knock  at  the  door  and 
run  away  ?     Tp  ring  heaven's  bell  and  vanish  in  the  darkness  as  if 


PROVIDENCE  A  DAILY  SURPRISE.  287 

ashamed  of  the  ringing  peal  ?  Let  me,  having  opened  my  eyes 
after  communing  with  heaven,  look  about  me  tor  the  answer,  and 
shew  that  I  expect  it.  When  your  child  got  better  after  your 
prayer — you  thought  she  might  have  got  better  without  it.  Did 
you  not  1  When  you  prayed  for  deliverance  from  a  certain  per- 
plexity and  the  deliverance  came, — you  thought  that  perhaps  it 
would  have  come  as  a  matter  of  course  if  you  had  waited  longer. 
That  is  the  atheism  which  grieves  God  !  The  blatant  atheism  that 
denies,  He  takes  no  heed  of,  but  the  atheism  that  comes  after /r^- 
ing  to  Him  and  getting  the  answer,  is  seven-fold  blasphemy  ! 
When  the  damsel  affirmed  that  it  was  even  Peter  ; — the  people 
who  had  been  praying  said,  "  It  is  his  angel,  it  cannot  be  him- 
self." So  we  fritter  away  our  religion  into  a  barren  sentiment  ! 
We  will  not  let  heaven  speak  plainly  to  us  ;  the  mystification  is  on 
our  side  not  on  God's  ;  He  would  oftentimes  come  straight  to  us 
and  talk  in  plain  mother  tongue  to  our  hearts  ;  when  He  does  we 
say,  "  It  was  a  dream,  it  was  a  visioji,  it  was  an  impression  we 
cannot  account  for,"  In  reply  to  frank  words  from  heaven  we 
return  crooked  words  of  unbelief.  Let  the  language  be  equally 
plain  on  bolh  sides,  and  our  converse  with  heaven  shall  be  broader 
and  healthier.  The  people  who  believe  in  their  own  spirits  easily 
believe  in  spirits  outside  them.  If  you  do  not  believe  that  you 
yourself  zvQ  a  spirit  you  cannot  believe  that  there  are  other  spirits 
in  the  universe.  A  g^eat  conversion  must  be  made  in  your  o\vn 
soul.  You  must  know  what  you  are  before  you  can  tell  what 
GOD  is.  Let  me  familiarize  my  mind  with  the  fact  that  I  am  a 
spirit  and  not  a  body,  a  soul  and  not  a  figure,  an  eagle  and  not  a 
cage,  then  all  things  admit  of  an  emotional  and  spiritual  interpre- 
tation ;  but  when  I  go  down  in  the  consciousness  of  my  own  spirit- 
uality, it  is  impossible  for  me  to  believe,  in  that  degree,  in  the 
spirituality  of  others.  But  Peter  continued  knocking.  He  had 
just  passed  through  all  the  experience  of  the  damsel  and  of  the 
Church,  and  experience  makes  us  patient  with  other  people.  Peter 
said  by  his  knocking,  "  I  know  what  they  are  thinking — it  is  im- 
possible that  I  should  be  here — I  have  just  passed  through  that 
self-same  mental  confusion,  and  thought  it  was  not  an  angel,  I 
thought  it  was  a  dream  ;  and  they  are  now  suffering  from  the  very 
confusion  from  which  I  have  escaped,  so  I  will  knock  on." 
"  And  when  they  had  opened  the  door,  and  saw  him,  they  were 


ACTS  XII.  12-25. 


astonished. ' '  Providence  is  a  daily  surprise,  God  is  never  common- 
place. If  we  only  knew  it,  every  breath  is  a  miracle,  every  out-put- 
ting of  our  limbs  to  walk,  every  uplifting  of  our  hand  or  eye  has 
behind  it  the  secret  which  arched  the  heavens  and  moves  the  stars. 
Astonishment  of  the  highest  kind  properly  belongs  to  the  religious 
realm.  Let  us  see  to  it  that  amazement  does  not  exaggerate  itself 
into  disbelief.  Peter  then  made  his  speech,  and  the  value  of  that 
speech  consisted  in  the  fact  that  it  was  made,  after  consideration. 
This  is  a  sober-minded  statement.  The  film  had  fallen  from  the 
eyes,  the  strange  air  had  blown  away  from  the  brain,  the  man  had 
come  back  again  to  himself,  and  knowing  the  value  of  words,  the 
shape  of  things,  and  the  meaning  of  tones,  he  separately  and 
studiedly  went  over  the  whole  tale  and  gave  his  charge  to  the 
Church  saying — "  go  shew  these  things  unto  James  and  unto  the 
brethren" — give  them  another  gospel,  add  another  leaf  to  their 
testament,  stir  up  their  faith,  light  to  a  brighter  blaze  the  shining 
of  their  hope. 

Now  comes  the  sad  line.  "  And  he  departed,  and  went  into 
another  place."  Peter  disappears  from  the  story  !  "  And  he  de- 
parted." His  dear  name,  glorious  name  will  never  come  up 
again.  We  shall  hear  of  him  incidentally  in  a  controversy  with 
Paul,  but  so  far  as  this  narrative  is  concerned  he  is  gone.  We 
cannot  say  "  good-bye"  to  a  man  like  Peter  without  remembering 
his  nobleness.  I  know  we  first  think  of  his  sin,  but  who  is  there 
that  has  gone  with  him  to  the  same  depths  of  penitence  and  shed 
the  same  rivers  of  coyitritionp  Peter  has  comforted  many  of  us  by 
his  falling  and  rising  again.  He  was  always  being  called  aside  to 
be  cross-examined  and  reproved.  Christ  said  the  hardest  things 
to  Peter  he  ever  said  to  any  of  his  followers.  He  called  him  once 
— "  Satan."  Once  he  said  to  Peter,  "  Thou  art  an  offence  unto 
me  ;"  once  he  ordered  Peter  behind,  saying,  "  Get  thee  behind 
me  ;"  but  afterwards  they  had  long  talks,  sweet,  sweet  converse. 
Between  them  there  passed  the  great  act  of  forgiveness,  and  the 
great  confession  of  heart-love  deep  down  beyond  all  other  feeling, 
and  by-and-bye  Peter  will  go  to  Jerusalem  together  with  Paul,  and 
about  the  same  time  they  will  die  a  martyr's  death.  Think  of  his 
nobleness,  of  his  enthusiasm,  of  his  kindness,  of  his  grcat- 
heartedncss,  and  in  the  recollection  of  his  splendid  qualities  forget, 
as  Christ  forgave,  Jiis  momentary  wickedness.      I  am  sorry  he  has 


READ   THE  CHAPTER   THROUGH.  289 

gone,  the  place  was  warm  whilst  he  remained  in  it  ;  there  was  a 
sense  of  freedom  of  speech  in  the  church  whilst  Peter  was  to  the 
fore.  He  was  not  a  logician,  but  he  had  a  great  royal  heart.  The 
man  we  miss  the  most  is  not  the  logician,  the  scholar,  the  pedant, 
but  the  man  with  the  womanly  heart,  great  nest  in  which  we  might 
abide  until  we  forgot  our  weariness  and  recovered  our  hope. 

The  soldiers  knew  nothing  of  the  vision.  Visions  are  near  yet 
far  away.  One  member  of  the  family  sees  heaven  opened,  and 
the  other  calls  his  brother  a  fanatic.  The  light  can  go  right  past 
you  without  your  ever  seeing  it  ; — you  can  sleep  through  a  revela- 
tion !  There  are  those  who  can  listen  to  words  that  burn  with 
heaven's  own  fire,  without  knowing  that  any  words  uncommon 
have  been  spoken.  Lord  give  us  the  hearing  ear  and  the  under- 
standing heart, — that  quick  hearing  that  hears  a  word  long  after  it 
has  been  uttered,  its  echo,  re-echo,  and  far  away  soundings  ! 
Circumcise  our  ears  that  they  may  hear  !  Anoint  our  eyes  with 
eye-salve  that  they  may  see  ! 

Contrast  the  opening  of  the  chapter  with  its  ending.  In  the 
opening  of  the  chapter  "  Herod  the  king  stretched  forth  his  hand 
to  vex  certain  of  the  Church,"  in  the  end  of  the  chapter  he  is  eaten 
up  of  worms,  literally,  of  lice,  as  was  one  of  his  forerunners. 
They  were  a  bad  stock,  and  the  worms  were  ill-fated  that  had  to 
live  upon  them  !  Look  at  the  end  of  a  man.  At  the  opening  of 
the  chapter  he  said,  "  I  have  fleshed  my  sword,  and  now  I  will 
kill  Peter  also,"  and  at  the  end  of  the  same  chapter  he  is  eaten  up 
of  worms.  He  went  down  from  Judea  to  Csesarea,  where  the  life 
was  gayer,  where  the  viands  were  better,  where  the  wine  was 
keener  to  the  taste,  and  clothed,  as  Josephus  tells  us,  in  a  robe  of 
wrought  silver  which  glittered  and  shone  in  the  sun  as  he  moved, 
he  sat  down  to  make  his  speech.  And  the  base  sycophants  said, 
"it  is  the  voice  of  a  god,  and  not  of  a  man. ' '  The  people  that 
would  have  eaten  him  up  if  he  had  been  in  the  falling  line  instead 
of  the  ascending  scale  ;  the  servile  mob  said,  "  it  is  the  voice  of  a 
god,"  and  Herod  devoured  the  tribute  and  thought  he  deserved  it, 
and  immediately  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  who  has  been  very  active 
in  this  chapter,  "smote  him  !"  A  tremendous  and  fatal  blow  ! 
Look  at  the  end  of  a  man  ;  do  not  hear  the  atheist  and  blasphemer 
to-day  in  fatness  and  prosperity,  and  abounding  wealth  :  read  the 
chapter  through  and  the  chapter  will  conclude  as  this  concludes. 


290  ACTS  XII.  12-25. 


— Herod  eaten  up  of  worms — "  but  the  Word  of  God  grew  and 
multiplied."  ffercd  dea.d,  the  ^oj/^/ advancing  !  Herod  eaten 
up  of  worms,  but  Christ  gathering  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
into  his  heart  and  claiming  the  heathen  for  a  possession  !  Always 
read  the  chapter  through.  Do  not  break  off  a  man's  life  in  the 
middle  and  say,  "see  how  vice  prospers,  see  how  virtue  lan- 
guishes !"  I  see  Herod,  I  see  him  in  Caesarea,  I  see  him  arrayed 
in  his  dress  of  woven  cloth  of  silver  and  I  see  his  proud  mien,  but 
1  will  wait  longer,  this  cannot  be  the  end  of  it !  Every  star  pro- 
tests against  this  as  the  conclusion,  the  very  shape  of  God's  crea- 
tion says.  That  is  not  the  full  stop  ;  things  are  round,  the  universe 
is  a  circle, — wait ! — We  do  wait — and  in  our  waiting  we  find  two 
things  ;  the  king  never  coming  home  again,  the  king  delivered  to 
the  meanest  fate,  and  the  word  of  God  stretching  out  its  mighty 
pinions  and  flying  abroad  with  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  proclaiming 
ANOTHER  KING  whose  kingdom  cannot  fall  ! 


THE    DISPENSATION  OF   THE    SPIRIT. 


[This  may  be  a  proper  point  from  which  to  look  back  upon  the  great 
event  which  glorifies  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  namely,  the  outpouring 
of  the  HOLY  SPIRIT,  and  to  connect  that  event  with  the  Ministry 
of  Jesus  Christ  as  well  as  with  the  development  and  sanctification  of 
his  Church.  On  considering  how  to  conduct  this  part  of  my  task  I 
have  decided  to  reprint  the  portion  of  my  book  entitled  The  Paraclete, 
which  specially  deals  with  this  sublime  section  of  sacred  history,  and 
I  feel  the  less  hesitation  about  this  course  as  the  book  is  out  of  print 
and  is  frequently  inquired  for.] 

XXXIII. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  draw  near  to  thy  Throne  without  fear  or  trembling, 
because  thou  hast  exhorted  us  to  come  boldly  unto  the  throne  of  grace. 
We  come  that  we  may  obtain  mercy,  and  find  grace  to  help  us  in  time  of 
need.  Our  life  is  one  crying  want.  We  have  nothing  that  we  have  not 
received  ;  thou  art  the  Giver  of  every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift. 
We  humbly  desire,  therefore,  to  thank  thee  for  all  the  mercies  we  enjoy, 
and  all  the  grace  which  has  strengthened  and  soothed  our  life  ;  for  all  the 
hope  which  has  inspired  us  in  the  dark  and  cloudy  day  ;  and  for  the 
manifold  comforts  which  hath  healed  our  diseases  and  consoled  us  when 
the  help  of  man  was  vain.  We  have  come  up  from  our  households  that 
we  may  bless  God  in  his  own  house.  We  have  come  to  speak  the  piaises 
of  the  Most  High  God,  for  thy  mercy,  O  King  of  saints,  endureth  for 
ever  !  We  have  not  forsaken  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  as 
the  manner  of  some  is  ;  but  with  one  accord  are  found  in  one  place,  and 
we  lift  up  our  hearts  with  one  consent.  Each  worshipper  brings  his  own 
tribute,  each  heart  has  its  own  song,  each  hand  its  own  gift.  Yet  have 
we  common  mercies,  for  which  we  can  find  common  praises.  We  can  all 
unite  in  praising  thee  for  the  light  of  the  heavens,  the  air  on  which  we 
live.  Thou  hast  spread  our  table  in  the  wilderness  ;  when  we  had  no 
bread,  thou  didst  multiply  the  crumbs  that  were  left  ;  when  the  cruse  of 
oil  did  fail,  thou  didst  cause  it  to  flow  on  ;  when  the  staff  broke  in  our 
hands,  thou  didst  give  unto  us  thy  rod  and  thy  staff,  and  they  comforted 


292  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

us  ;  when  the  road  was  hilly  and  stony  and  difficult,  thou  didst  uphold  us 
with  strength  unfailing,  thou  didst  bring  us  to  the  mountain  top  ;  when 
the  wind  was  cold,  thou  didst  shield  us  from  its  blast  ;  when  the  dark 
night  came  suddenly  down  upon  us,  thou  didst  set  thine  eye  in  the  dark- 
ness, and  behold  it  was  bright  as  day  beneath  our  feet  !  What  shall  we 
render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  his  benefits  towards  us  ?  Some  have  come 
from  the  toils  of  business,  the  anxieties  of  earthly  life,  and  are  hardly 
able  to  emancipate  themselves  from  recollections  and  apprehensions,  from 
fears  and  suggestions,  which  are  unfavourable  to  worship,  and  which  mar 
the  continuity  of  their  contemplation  and  interfere  with  the  stream  of 
their  devotional  love.  Do  thou  grant  them  release  from  all  worldly  tor- 
ments, from  all  earthly  cares,  and  give  thy  people  to  feel  the  liberty  of 
heaven,  the  joy  of  the  presence  of  God  !  Some  have  returned  to  thy 
house  after  long  absence  ;  thou  hast  seen  fit  to  lay  them  aside  from  the 
busy  crowd,  to  give  them  hours  of  pain,  days  of  restlessness,  and  nights 
of  weariness.  Now  that  they  have  returned  to  public  worship,  they 
desire  to  speak  of  the  goodness  of  God,  his  peace,  his  healing  power,  and 
to  be  thankful  for  his  sustaining  grace.  Lord  hear  the  grateful  psalm  of 
such,  and  abundantly  sustain  and  comfort  them,  now  that  they  have 
formed  resolutions  of  intenser  devotion  and  more  constant  love.  Most 
of  us  have  brought  sorrow  with  us  ;  some  little  shadow  or  dark  cloud, 
some  wearing  grief,  some  tormenting,  oppressive  burden, — sorrows  we 
cannot  tell,  we  dare  not  sigh,  lest  listeners  should  suspect  the  hidden 
grief.  We  can  only  bow  down  ourselves  belore  God,  praying  that  the 
sorrows  of  our  life  may  be  sources  of  joy  ;  that  out  of  our  very  grief  we 
may  be  able  to  extract  honey  which  chall  refresh  the  strength  of  our 
souls.  Do  thou  sanctify  the  discipline  of  life  to  us  ;  give  us  control  over 
events  and  circumstances,  so  far  as  to  enable  us  to  feel  that  thy  shaping 
hand  is  moving  amid  all  the  chaos  of  life,  and  that  thou  art  working  out 
thine  own  wondrous  order  and  beauty.  It  will  be  enough  for  us  if  we 
know  thou  art  near,  and  that  thy  throne  absorbs  all  other  powers.  The 
stranger  is  here,  far  away  from  home  ;  the  young  man  is  here,  far  from 
early  association  and  restraint  of  home  love  ;  the  wanderer  is  here,  not 
knowing  why  he  was  born,  surrounded  by  difficulties,  depressed,  almost 
despairing  ;  the  unsuccessful  man,  who  has  knocked  at  a  thousand  doors, 
and  no  kindly  hand  has  opened  one  to  him  that  he  might  have  hospital- 
ity ;  the  hypocrite,  with  well-set  visor,  with  double-painted  mask,  well 
fitted  to  his  face,  the  man  who  can  say  words  with  his  lips  which  were 
never  dictated  by  his  heart  ;  the  enquirer  is  here,  tossed  about  by  doubt 
and  difficulty,  and  perplexity,  sincere  in  his  heart,  yet  there  is  a  heavy 
mist  upon  all  his  thinking,  and  he  is  groping  his  way  towards  God, 
towards  life  ;  the  little  child  is  here — the  summer  bud,  the  June  flower — 
and  even  the  parent's  eye  cannot  foresee  altogether  the  development  and 
destiny.  Look  upon  us  as  we  are  before  thee  !  Lift  up  those  that  be 
bowed  down.  Strike  the  visor  from  the  false  face.  Soothe  the  sorrowing  ; 
dry  the  tears  of  grief.     Give  stimulus  and  strength  to  every  man  in  whom 


GIFT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  293 

there  is  high  aspiration,  to  every  heart  in  which  there  is  a  noble  purpose. 
Enable  us  all,  whether  tottering  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  or  looking  out 
from  earliest  life  upon  all  the  wonders  of  existence,  to  know  that  ihou 
art  our  Father,  our  Redeemer,  our  Sanctifier,  and  in  God  may  we  have 
our  being  !  Have  mercy  upon  us,  thou  loving  One  1  Thou  delightest  to 
forgive  :  we  all  need  thy  forgiveness.  Help  us  from  our  heart  of  hearts  to 
confess  our  sin.  May  we  show  how  truly  we  confess  it  by  the  intensity 
of  our  hatred  of  it.  When  we  own  our  guilt,  may  we  tremble  and  be  in 
despair,  until  we  see  the  Cross,  the  light  of  the  advancing  Saviour,  the 
Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  Wash  us,  and 
we  shall  be  clean.  Let  thy  blessing  now  go  from  congregation  to  con- 
gregation, from  minister  to  minister,  until  all  who  are  engaged  in  worship 
feel  the  fire  of  devotion  glowing  in  their  hearts.  May  souls  to-day  be 
reclaimed,  be  re-established  be  edified,  be  comforted.  Thus  at  eventide 
we  shall  be  a  Sabbath  Day's  journey  nearer  home  !     Amen. 

PERSONALITY  AND  MANIFESTATION   OP 
THE  HOLY   SPIRIT. 

EVERYWHERE  in  the  Bible  the  Holy  Ghost  is  described  as 
a  Person,  and  never  as  a  mere  influence  separable  from  per- 
sonality. Poetic  license,  indeed,  allows  natural  objects,  and  even 
objects  of  human  contrivance,  to  be  spoken  of  in  a  limited  sense 
as  living  creatures,  as,  for  example,  when  personal  pronouns  of 
masculine  and  feminine  gender  are  used  in  speaking  of  the  sun 
and  moon  ;  but  this  is  wholly  different  from  the  varied  and  precise 
expressions  which  are  constantly  employed  by  biblical  writers  in 
referring,  however  fully  or  incidentally,  to  the  ministry  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  According  to  the  doctrine  of  those  writers,  the  Holy  Spirit 
"teaches,"  "comforts,"  "reproves,"  "guides,"  and  "sancti- 
fies" mankind;  he  "leads  into  all  truth;"  he  "testifies  of 
Christ;"  he  quickens  the  memory,  so  that  all  things  taught  by 
Jesus  Christ  are  brought  to  remembrance  ;  he  "  searches  all 
things,  yea  the  deep  things  of  God."  It  would  certainly  appear, 
therefore,  that  so  far  as  it  is  possible  for  language  to  escape  indis- 
tinctness when  applied  to  purely  spiritual  subjects,  such  terms  must 
be  taken  as  settling  decisively  the  fact  that  the  biblical  writers 
themselves  did,  rightly  or  wrongly,  believe  in  the  proper  personal- 
ity of  the  Holy  Ghost  ;  and  all  the  more  so  in  the  light  of  the 
further  fact,  that  precisely  the  same  terms  are  applied  to  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  are  applied  to  the  Father,  so  that  the  personality  of  the 
one  stands  or  falls  with  the  personality  of  the  other. 


294  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

But  how  to  escape  the  danger  of  bodily  manifestation  and  at  the 
same  time  secure  the  consciousness  and  comfort  of  divine  person- 
ality ?  How  to  have  heaven  without  the  risk  and  pain  of  earth  ? 
Such  is  the  problem  which  awaits  solution.  Think  of  the  danger 
of  any  form  of  personality  which  is  comprehensible  by  bodily  vis- 
ion. First  of  all,  that  vision  is  itself  imperfect,  and  must  there- 
fore come  to  erroneous  conclusions  respecting  the  objects  of  its 
observation.  What  two  men  ever  saw  exactly  alike  ?  Vision  is 
affected  by  critical  training,  by  taste,  by  skill  in  delicate  compari- 
son, also  by  physical  and  atmospherical  conditions,  so  much  so 
that  not  only  do  no  two  men  see  alike,  but  the  same  man  corrects 
the  observations  of  his  own  vision  as  he  grows  in  judgment  or 
changes  his  point  of  observation.  The  eye  takes  note  of  figure, 
attitude,  colour,  magnitude,  so  that  whatever  may  be  inward  and 
spiritual  in  humanity  is  necessarily  approached  in  the  first  instance 
through  physical  appearances;  and  appearances  are  proverbially 
deceptive.  Who  can  say  with  unquestioning  certitude  that  he  ever 
saw  anything  as  it  really  is  ?  The  eye  is  probably  the  least  relia- 
ble of  the  senses,  though  amply  sufficient  for  noting  the  rough 
outlines  and  magnitudes  of  objects.  But  the  hand  is  too  quick  for 
the  eye.  The  skilled  conjuror  will  make  a  fool  of  any  man  who 
insists  that  seeing  is  believing  ;  yet  it  is  so,  only  that  "  seeing"  is 
something  other  than  the  ordinary  use  of  the  visual  organs.  See- 
ing is  believing,  let  us  say,  but  what  is  seemg  ?  The  young  look 
for  beauty  of  form  ;  the  mature  look  for  beauty  of  character.  In 
early  life  we  enquire  for  outward  charms  ;  we  say  this  is  lovely,  and 
that  is  grand,  our  meaning  simply  being  that  in  our  estimation  the 
outline  is  perfect,  the  colour  is  exquisite,  or  the  proportions  are 
noble.  By-and-bye  however,  when  we  are  disciplined  and  mel- 
lowed, we  know  that  there  is  no  satisfaction  but  in  moral  excel- 
lence alone,  and,  indeed,  a  reluctant  distrust  of  all  ephemeral 
charms  begins  to  affect  our  estimates  of  life.  Out  of  this  experi- 
ence has  come  the  homely  proverb,  *'  Handsome  is  that  handsome 
does,"  a  proverb  full  of  almost  painful  meaning  when  traced  to  its 
philosophy, — the  outward  and  the  formal  having  befooled  or  mis- 
led us,  and  the  neglected  excellence  (without  form  or  comeliness) 
having  only  slowly  come  to  recognition  and  honour.  We  say  of 
some  persons  that  the  more  they  are  known  the  more  they  arc 
beloved,  or  we  vary  the  expression  by  saying  that  such  and  such 


APPEARANCES  MISLEADING.  295 

persons  will  "  bear  knowing  ;"  and  on  the  other  hand  we  say  of 
certain  persons  that  the  more  they  are  known  the  less  do  they 
justify  either  confidence  or  esteem.  In  both  cases  the  risks  of 
merely  bodily  or  physical  manifestation  are  illustrated  ;  thus  :  in 
the  former  case  there  was  perhaps  something  of  ungainliness  or 
unattractiveness  to  be  got  over  before  the  real  quality  of  the  char- 
acter was  ascertained  ;  very  little  perhaps,  yet  there  it  was, — a 
frown,  an  occasional  expression,  apparent  coldness  or  even  pride, 
want  of  ease  and  frankness,  indisposition  to  speak,  and  uncon- 
cealed objection  to  confide  ; — in  the  latter  case  there  were  marked 
personal  advantages,  a  winning  smile,  frankness,  geniality,  beauty 
of  face,  elegance  of  carriage,  but  further  acquaintance  with  the  life 
dispelled  the  charm  of  mere  appearances.  Wise  men  know  how 
much  better  it  is  that  the  difficulty,  if  any,  should  present  itself  in 
physical  appearances  rather  than  in  moral  features.  Yet  it  is  not 
easy  to  begin  the  world  successfully  without  physical  attractions, 
for  the  world  is  much  given  over  to  the  lust  of  the  eyes.  The 
plain  man  must  stand  aside  until  the  gainly  man  has  had  his  full 
turn  ;  the  gold  ring  first,  the  mean  raiment  last,  everywhere, — 
perhaps  even  in  the  house  of  God  !  In  Jesus  Christ's  own  case 
the  most  serious  dangers  arose  from  the  physical  and  local  aspect 
of  his  life  and  ministry.  His  contemporaries  could  not  get  over 
the  appearances,  and  they  had  no  lack  of  various  expression  of 
disappointment  and  disgust.  A  few  of  their  contemptuous  utter- 
ances will  prove  this  :  "  Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of 
Nazareth?"  "  Are  not  his  sisters  with  us?"  "Whence  hath 
this  man  this  wisdom?"  "Thou  art  not  yet  fifty  years  old." 
"Thou  art  a  Samaritan  and  hast  a  devil."  "Search  and  look, 
for  out  of  Galilee  ariseth  no  prophet."  Clearly,  then,  the  conten- 
tion turned  upon  nativity,  relationship,  locality, — in  a  word,  upon 
all  the  accidents  of  merely  bodily  manifestation.  The  acknowl- 
edged "wisdom"  could  not  subdue  the  prejudice  arising  out  of 
"Nazareth,"  "Galilee,"  and  "  Samaritanism. "  A  great  risk, 
therefore,  in  a  human  point  of  view,  was  the  incarnation  of  God- 
head. Even  to  apostolic  faith  it  presented  itself  as  the  great  mys- 
tery of  godliness. 

Why  does  this  difficulty,  in  all  its  varying  forms  and  degrees, 
arise,  in  connection  with  every  presence,  and  especially  every  liv- 
ing presence  that  appeals  to  the  eye  ?     Because  of  the  limitation  of 


296  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

such  presence.  When  men  can  see  what  they  suppose  to  be  the 
boundaries  of  a  figure,  they  instinctively  compare  it  with  other 
bodies  ;  its  probable  force  can  be  calculated,  its  relative  value  can 
be  appraised,  and  the  discrepancy  between  its  capacity  and  its  pur- 
pose can  be  exaggerated  or  decried  according  to  the  bias  of  the 
observer.  The  consequence  is  that  before  spiritual  questions  can 
be  approached,  the  temptation  which  is  always  presented  by  ap- 
pearances must  be  encountered,  and  at  that  point  spiritual  inquiry 
may  be  perverted  or  arrested.  Where,  as  in  the  case  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  instrument  is  considered  to  be  evidently  weak,  there  is  a 
temptation  to  contemn  and  distrust  it  :  and  where  to  all  human 
appearance  it  is  obviously  equal  to  the  task  which  has  to  be  fulfill- 
ed, there  is  a  counter  temptation  to  forget  that  after  all  it  is  but 
an  instrument.  On  account,  therefore,  of  this  limitation,  bodily 
presence  is  often  detrimental  to  spiritual  influence.  We  know, 
for  example,  how  perilous  it  often  is  to  be  admitted  to  familiar  in- 
tercourse with  the  men  who  have  stimulated  us  by  their  thoughts 
and  thrown  upon  our  intellectual  life  the  spell  of  their  genius.  So 
long  as  such  men  stand  afar  off,  clothed  with  their  spiritual 
house,  and  working  with  their  spiritual  functions,  we  give  them 
homage  ;  but  when  they  come  near  us  they  invite  criticism  upon 
points  which  did  not  enter  into  their  original  mastery  of  our  ad- 
miration and  confidence  ;  some  weakness  of  the  flesh,  some  con- 
ceit of  manner  or  feebleness  of  expression,  or  other  more  or  less 
trifling  peculiarity,  may  impair  their  spiritual  dominion  and 
cause  us  to  regret  that  the  god  of  our  early  love  ever  came  down 
from  Olympian  invisibility. 

An  argumentative  difficulty  may  be  here  interposed.  If  no  two 
men  can  see  alike,  can  any  two  men  think  alike  .-'  If  a  man  has  to 
correct  his  own  observation,  has  he  not  also  to  correct  his  own 
thinking  ?  If  so,  is  not  mental  incompetency  as  great  an  objec- 
tion to  spiritual  personality  as  visual  defect  is  to  bodily  manifesta- 
tion }  Imaginatively  it  is,  but  substantially  it  is  not.  Because 
whilst  physical  vision  cannot  be  perfected,  and  is  at  best  but  tem- 
porary in  its  uses,  spiritual  faculties  are  not  only  susceptible  of  the 
highest  refinement,  but  are  the  only  powers  by  which  men  can  lay 
hold  upon  immortality, — without  them  there  can  be  no  manhood. 
Whilst,  therefore,  in  the  one  case  the  difficulty  is  inherent,  in  the 
other  it  is  a  continually  decreasing  quantity.     We  shall  always,  as 


PORTRAITS  OF  CHRIST.  297 

a  matter  of  happy  necessity,  have  diversity  and  conflict  of  thinking, 
yet  the  thinking  powers  are  by  this  very  opposition  being  trained 
to  the  strength  and  precision  out  of  which  will  come  vital  recon- 
ciliation and  harmony. 

From  the  beginning  the  danger  of  a  visible  manifestation  of  the 
Godhead  w.as  foreseen  and  guarded  against  :  "Ye  saw  no  manner 
of  similitude  on  the  day  that  the  Lord  spake  unto  you  in  Horeb 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire,  lest  ye  corrupt  yourselves,  and  make 
you  a  graven  image,  the  similitude  of  any  figure,  the  likeness  of 
male  or  female. ' '  Man  has  always  wanted  to  see  God,  and  God 
has  always  refused  to  be  seen.  So  we  have  no  image  of  God. 
Mythological  deities  we  have  in  galleries  of  marble  cunningly  cut, 
but  the  God  that  made  the  heavens  is  nowhere  to  be  found 
amongst  all  the  ambition  and  daring  of  the  most  audacious  art. 
And  what  have  we  even  of  the  Man  Christ  Jesus  in  sculpture  or 
painting  ?  Much,  yet  nothing.  Do  any  two  heads  of  his  corre- 
spond .-•  Does  any  head  of  his  satisfy  the  observer,  filling  up  all 
his  dreams  and  desires,  and  turning  all  his  holy  prayers  into  visi- 
ble and  enrapturing  answers .?  It  would  seem,  indeed,  as  if  one 
or  two  Christs  had  actually  been  painted  under  the  direct  inspira- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  yet  as  if  the  hand  of  the  painter  had 
failed  the  Inspirer  himself.  And  as  if  the  painter  too  had  reeled 
just  as  he  was  about  to  add  the  touch  that  would  have  shown 
divinity.  There  is  a  better  Christ  in  every  broken  heart  than  can 
be  found  amongst  the  artistic  treasures  of  men, — a  Christ  full  of 
sympathy,  very  pitiful  and  gracious,  stooping  with  infinite  con- 
descension, and  counting  no  service  mean.  Who  would  have 
only  a  portrait  of  Christ  when  he  can  have  in  his  heart  the  Son  of 
God  himself  ? 

This  is  the  point  towards  which  we  have  been  moving  through- 
out these  collateral  reflections.  How  needful  soever  to  escape  the 
perils  of  bodily  manifestation  (a  need  whose  importance  cannot  be 
exaggerated),  yet  the  comfort  of  d.\\mQ  personality,  as  distinguished 
from  abstract  infinitude,  must  be  secured.  In  his  highest  aspira- 
tions man  requires,  and  indeed  demands,  distinct,  individual  com- 
panionable life, — he  must  have  pathos  as  well  as  augustness,  or 
he  will  be  overpowered  and  discouraged  ;  his  progress  will  be  an 
advancement  into  solitude,  and  loneliness  will  kill  him.  We  have 
now  to  find  out,  by  an  honest  exposition  of  Scripture  and  a  fair 


298  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

interpretation  of  human  consciousness,  how  far  this  necessity  is 
provided  for  in  the  revelation  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  That  is  pre- 
cisely our  work  in  this  argument.  Is  the  Holy  Ghost  a  person  .? 
Is  it  true  that  he  can  be  the  Guest  of  the  heart,  the  Teacher  of  the 
understanding,  the  Revealer  of  Christ?  Is  the  Holy  Ghost  a 
Comforter,  and  as  such  will  he  come  to  the  bruised  and  aching 
heart  with  solaces  not  earthly  but  heavenly  ?  These  inquiries  are 
of  some  consequence  to  men  who  already  see  the  coming  sunset, 
having  first  felt  the  disappointment  and  bitterness  of  life.  One 
word  may  be  a  key  to  our  reasoning,  viz. ,  God  is  a  Spirit,  — so  is 
man.     Man  has  a  body,  but  he  w  a  spirit. 


XXXIV. 
PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  bless  thee  for  Jesus  Christ  as  a  teacher  sent  from 
heaven.  His  words  are  words  of  life  and  power  ;  they  search  the  heart, 
they  try  the  reins,  of  the  children  of  men  ;  they  are  sharper  than  a  two- 
edged  sword.  We  rejoice  that  thou  dost  enable  us  to  submit  ourselves  to 
the  searching  criticism  of  Jesus  Christ's  word.  We  have  been  false  to 
ourselves  ;  we  have  concealed  our  true  nature  even  from  our  own  eyes  ; 
we  have  looked  on  the  outside  only  ;  we  have  forgotten  our  inner  life, 
the  life  of  motive,  of  secret  impulse,  of  purposes  we  dare  not  explain  ; 
we  have  looked  only  to  our  hand,  when  we  ought  to  have  examined  the 
very  life  of  our  heart.  But  Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son,  doth  not  spare  us  ;  he 
searcheth  us  as  with  a  candle  ;  he  kindleth  upon  us  the  flame  of  the  Lord, 
and  in  the  light  of  that  fire  he  searches  and  tries  us,  and  sees  if  there  be 
any  wicked  way  in  us.  We  rejoice  in  the  plainness  and  the  vigour  of  his 
speech.  We  thank  thee  that  Jesus  Christ  layeth  the  axe  at  the  root  of 
the  tree  ;  we  bless  thee  for  his  radical  teaching,  for  his  going  to  the  roots 
of  all  evil  things,  for  his  making  the  tree  good  that  the  fruit  may  be  good, 
for  his  purifying  the  fountain  that  the  stream  may  be  pure.  May  we 
learn  of  Jesus  Christ  in  these  things,  and  seek  to  do  thy  will,  not  as  man- 
pleasers,  not  with  eye-service,  but  with  all  the  simplicity  of  love,  with  all 
the  strength  of  entire  trust,  honouring  goodness  for  its  own  sake,  and 
loving  truth  because  it  is  the  speech  of  God  !  Deliver  us  from  all  deceit- 
fulness,  all  falsehood,  all  pretence,  and  enable  us  to  serve  thee  in  spirit 
and  in  truth  ;  and  out  of  a  life  based  on  godly  sincerity,  may  there  come 
works  of  love,  pity,  charity,  and  beneficence  which  shall  bless  all  with 
whom  we  come  in  contact  !  Have  mercy  upon  us  wherein  we  have 
sinned.  We  have  done  the  things  we  ought  not  to  have  done,  we  have 
left  undone  the  things  that  we  ought  to  have  done.     We  accuse  ourselves. 

If  the  surface  has  been  right  the  motive  has  been  wrong  ;  if  our  hand 
has  been  clean  our  heart  has  been  leprous.  Do  thou  wash  us  in  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ,  shed  for  the  sins  of  men, — the  sacrificial  blood  which  is 
our  propitiation,  our  plea,  and  our  answer  before  God  !  Let  thine  own 
people  glory  in  the  truth,  feel  its  power,  acknowledge  its  sovereignty, 
bless  its  giver.  If  there  be  before  thee,  or  shall  come  within  the  influence 
of  our  word  to-night,  any  man  who  is  hypocritical,  who  seeks  to  cover  up 
his  real  state  from  the  eye  of  society  and  from  the  eye  of  his  own  con- 
science, apply  thy  word  to  such  as  a  flame  of  fire,  finding  its  way  into 
the  secret  chambers  of  the  soul  and  lighting  up  the  darkest  recesses  of 


300  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

the  life.  Make  us  glad  in  the  Lord  1  In  the  world  we  have  mortification, 
disappointment,  tears,  brolcen  staves  piercing  our  hands,  much  sorrow, 
great  difficulty.  But  in  God's  house,  on  God's  day,  gathered  as  we  are 
around  God's  book,  surely  thy  children  shall  not  plead  in  vain  for  the 
gladness  which  comes  of  thy  presence  !     Amen. 

THE    HISTORIC    MOVEMENT    TOWARDS 
SPIRITUALITY. 

THE  succession  which  is  indicated  by  the  words  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  is  neither  nominal  nor  accidental,  it  is  a 
philosophical  progress  and  culmination.  Any  transposition  of  this 
order  would  be  felt  to  be  irregular  and  impossible, — violent,  un- 
natural, and  self-destructive.  When  we  think  ourselves  back 
towards  the  origin  of  things,  we  are  conscious  of  the  keenest  dis- 
satisfaction with  all  mere  terms  that  get  no  farther  than  the  appro- 
bation of  the  strictly  critical  faculty  ;  we  want  something  more  ; 
something  for  which  we  cannot  hit  the  exact  word,  but  for  want 
of  which  the  heart  often  aches  and  cries.  Then  is  suggested  the 
biblical  word.  Father,  and  with  it  comes  at  least  a  promise  of  satis- 
faction ;  it  is  fell  to  be  the  true  starting-point,  having  difTiculties 
of  its  own  no  doubt,  but  difficulties  that  may  be  overcome.  The 
Fatherhood  is  not  emotional,  but  causative  and  sovereign  pater- 
nity. Logic  can  do  but  little  towards  its  explanation  ;  the  mind 
must  accept  this  idea  of  fatherhood  as  the  mind  accepts  itself,  a 
mystery  certainly,  but  not  greater  except  in  degree  than  the  silent, 
invisible,  spiritual  life  that  is  in  every  man.  But  fatherhood  is  a 
plural  or  inclusive  term  :  immediately  it  suggests  the  idea  of 
childhood,  and  childhood  is  realized  most  conspicuously  and  im- 
pressively in  the  sonship  of  Jesus  Christ ;  but  sonship  such  as  this, 
involving  manifestation  or  visible  expression,  is,  as  we  have  just 
urged,  beset  with  peculiar  risks  ;  provided,  therefore,  that  it  go 
barely  far  enough  to  establish  itself  as  an  indisputable  fact  in 
human  history,  the  sooner  it  is  withdrawn  from  ocular  criticism, 
the  less  will  the  world  be  tantalised  and  distracted  by  the  exercise 
of  its  own  imperfect  physical  senses.  This  manifestation  and 
withdrawment  are  exclusively  characteristic  of  Jesus  Christ.  He 
was  here  long  enough  to  remove  all  doubt  as  to  his  personal  iden- 
tity, yet  he  withdrew  himself  immediately  that  he  had  secured  for 
his  personality  an  unquestioned  place  in  human  history.     Nothing 


DEVELOPMENT.  301 


more  was  to  be  gained  by  his  visible  continuance  on  earth  ;  his 
bodily  mission  had  been  wholly  fulfilled,  and  therefore  he  "  van- 
ished out  of  the  sight"  of  men.  But  what  of  the  future  of  his 
work  ?  Then,  according  to  Christian  teaching,  was  to  come  mani- 
festation without  visibility  ;  instead  of  bodily  presence,  there  was 
to  be  a  new  experience  of  life,  spirituality,  insight,  sensibility,  and 
sympathy  almost  infallible  in  holy  instinct.  In  one  word,  the 
holy  Matt  was  to  be  followed  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

This  idea  of  a  philosophical  rather  than  a  merely  arbitrary  suc- 
cession is  strictly  consistent  with  the  fact  that  /he  whole  movement  0/ 
history,  in  all  that  is  vital  and  permanent,  is  a  movement  from  the  out- 
ward and  visible  to  the  inward  and  spiritual :  this  we  claim  to  be 
true  of  all  history,  not  merely  of  any  particular  section  or  bias, — it 
is  true  of  civilization  in  all  its  enduring  elements.  A  brief  indica- 
tion of  facts  will  make  this  clear. 

1.  The  order  of  Creation,  as  detailed  in  the  account  given  in 
Genesis,  is  a  movement  towards  the  spiritual.  The  succession 
runs  thus  :  Light,  firmament,  dry  land,  seas,  the  fruit-tree  yield- 
ing fruit,  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  the  moving  creature  that  hath  life, 
and  fowl  flying  in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven,  cattle,  creeping 
thing,  and  beast  of  the  earth  ;  if  we  pause  here  we  shall  be  dis- 
satisfied, because  of  a  sense  of  incompleteness  :  there  has,  indeed, 
been  an  onward  movement,  but  expectation  will  be  mortified  if  the 
scene  close  at  this  point.  We  know  the  rest  :  "  God  said,  Let  us 
make  man  in  our  image  and  in  our  likeness," — that  was  the 
highest  point  of  spirituality  attainable  within  the  first  idea  of  crea- 
tion ;  yet  it  was  but  a  promise. 

2.  The  biblical  order  of  human  recovery  (apart  altogether  from 
any  theological  construction  of  it)  is  also  a  movement  towards 
spirituality.  Beginning  with  the  Levitical  ritual,  what  could  be 
more  objective,  or  more  thoroughly  penetrated  with  all  the  ele- 
ments of  the  most  violent  tragedy  .?  Exaction  follows  exaction,  as 
if  the  uttermost  farthing  alone  would  mitigate  the  severity  of  the 
inexorable  demand.  The  sin-offering,  the  trespass-offering,  the 
burnt-offering,  the  peace-offering  ;  the  baptisms,  the  incenses,  and 
the  eternal  flow  of  blood,  represent  the  most  sensuous  and  ex- 
hausting system  of  mediation.  Could  aught  be  farther  from  the 
point  of  spirituality  ?  Every  day  opening  with  fire  and  blood  ; 
every  evening  darkening  around  an  altar  specially  consecrated  for 


302  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

its  quiet  and  solemn  hours  ;  the  Sabbath  having  its  double  sacri- 
fice ;  the  new  moon  to  have  its  sacrifice  of  bullocks  and  rams  ; 
until  it  was  made  plain  that  in  God's  estimate  of  sin,  Lebanon  it- 
self was  not  sufficient  to  burn,  nor  the  beasts  thereof  sufficient  for 
a  burnt-offering.  In  moving  forward  to  the  Incarnation,  we  take 
an  immense  step  along  the  line  whose  final  point  is  spirituality, 
yet  even  there  we  are  still  distinctly  upon  the  carnal  line.  How  to 
escape  it }  How  to  pass  to  the  highest  homage  ?  The  answer  is 
as  full  of  pathos  as  of  truth  :  the  final  Representative  of  sensuous 
worship  must  himself  be  the  Revealer  of  spiritual  life.  Jesus 
Christ  did  not  pass  away  as  a-figure  complete  in  itself ;  he  ascended 
that  he  might  conduct  his  work  from  a  higher  level  and  by  a  more 
energetic  and  universal  agency.  Henceforth  we  know  not  even 
Jesus  Christ  "after  the  flesh,"  for  the  fleshly  Christ  has  himself 
placed  mankind  under  the  tuition  of  a  spiritual  monitor. 

3.  The  order  of  written  testimony,  though  in  some  respects  ap- 
parently accidental,  moves  in  precisely  the  same  direction.  From 
picture  and  symbol  we  pass  to  spiritual  meanings  ;  through  the 
noise  and  fury  of  war  we  pass  into  the  quietness  and  security  of 
moral  civilization  ;  through  the  porch  of  miracles  and  mighty 
signs  and  wonders  we  enter  the  holy  place  of  truth  and  love  ;  from 
the  erratic  and  most  startling  course  of  Matthew's  genealogical 
table  we  pass  into  John's  gospel,  where  the  Word  meets  us  with- 
out one  stain  of  earth  upon  its  robe  of  light.  The  quality  of 
John's  gospel  requires  the  very  place  that  has  been  assigned  to  it 
in  the  New  Testament.  It  is  infinitely  better  that  it  should  be 
preceded  by  the  synoptic  gospels,  in  which  the  attention  of  the 
world  is  boldly  challenged  by  activity,  spectacle,  and  a  quickly- 
moving  scene  of  divers  strange  things,  such  as  had  never  been  seen 
even  in  Israel.  In  the  gospel  by  John,  spiritual  teaching,  prom- 
ise, devotion,  comfort,  and  sanctification,  are  dominant,  though 
publicity  and  mighty  deeds  are  certainly  not  wanting.  John  inter- 
prets and  completes  his  predecessors.  He  seems  to  say,  "  You 
have  heard  what  the  evangelists  have  had  to  tell,  and  have  seen  the 
wonderful  things  which  they  remember  of  their  Master's  ministry  ; 
now  let  me  explain  the  deep  meaning  of  the  whole."  Thus  he 
comes  in  his  proper  place.  From  Malachi  to  Matthew  is  but  a 
step  ;  but  to  get  from  Malachi  to  John,  you  have  to  cross  the  uni- 
verse.    John's  gospel  is  waiting  until  the  Church  becomes  mature 


SPIRITUAL   CULMINATION.  303 

enough  to  understand  it.  It  waits  without  perturbation.  Mean- 
while there  is  no  lack  of  interest  in  Matthew  and  Mark  and  Luke  ; 
yet  they  are  but  the  genesis  of  which  the  fourth  gospel  is  the  apoc- 
alypse. Matthew  shows  the  fact ;  John  reveals  the  truth  :  Mat- 
thew portrays  on  canvas  ;  John  puts  his  word  into  the  heart. 
Only  relatively  so,  of  course  ;  for  in  Matthew  there  is  a  mystery 
of  godliness,  as  in  John  there  is  a  panorama  of  activity. 

4.  The  whole  /aw  is  a  movement  towards  spirituality.  From 
the  minuteness  of  microscopic  by-laws  men  have  passed  to  a  spirit- 
ual sense  of  moral  distinctions.  Every  moment  of  the  Jew's  time, 
and  every  act  of  the  Jew's  life,  was  guarded  by  a  regulation. 
Amidst  our  spiritual  light,  such  regulations  could  not  be  re-estab- 
lished without  awakening  the  keenest  resentment.  The  great 
tables  of  by-laws  have  been  taken  down,  because  the  Spirit  of 
Order  and  of  Truth  has  been  given.  What  is  true  of  law  is 
equally  true  of  all  institutionalism, — its  progress  is  from  a  crude 
outline  towards  completeness  of  purpose  and  critical  accuracy  of 
statement,  with  a  due  reserve  of  defensive  reply  in  the  event  of  a 
serious  assault.  The  original  scheme  was  probably  very  imper- 
fect, open  to  hostility  at  every  point,  and  inadequate  to  the  occa- 
sion to  which  it  primarily  addressed  itself ;  then  came  criticism 
and  reconsideration  ;  modification  and  readjustment  came 
quickly  afterwards  ;  the  very  wording  of  the  purpose  was  more 
keenly  set,  with  a  view  to  unexpressed  opposition  or  distrust ;  in 
short,  the  crude  outline  was  wrought  out  into  intellectual  and 
spiritual  completeness  and  beauty  ;  so  much  so,  that  a  compari- 
son between  the  first  prospectus  and  the  last  is  like  a  comparison 
between  a  rough  pencil  sketch  and  a  fully  coloured  picture.  And 
this  very  word  ' '  picture' '  suggests  that  even  in  the  department  of 
art  the  law  of  progression  towards  spirituality  prevails  ;  the  best 
pictures  and  statuary  do  all  but  live  ;  though  standing  out  with 
startling  independence  from  all  other  earthly  things,  they  seem  to 
have  around  them  somewhat  of  the  mystery  of  eternity,  now 
tender,  now  awful,  connected  by  invisible  threadlets  with  the  In- 
finite, and  abounding  inexhaustibly  with  suggestion  to  any  ob- 
server, whose  eye  is  alight  with  true  life. 

Probably  these  illustrations  of  the  doctrine  that  the  whole  move- 
ment of  history  has  gone  persistently  in  the  direction  of  spiritual- 
ity, will  be  accepted  or  rejected  according  to  the  theological  prej- 


304  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

udices  of  the  reader  ;  but  their  practical  value  will  be  determined 
by  the  fact  ^■sX  precisely  the  same  movement  takes  place  in  the  conscious- 
ness and  experience  of  every  progressive  life.  Every  man  can  test 
this  doctrine  for  himself, — the  doctrine,  namely,  that  the  growth 
of  manhood  is  a  growth  towards  spirituality.  The  child  grows 
towards  contempt  of  its  first  toys  ;  the  youth  reviews  the  narrow 
satisfactions  of  his  childhood  with  pity  ;  the  middle-aged  man 
smiles,  half-sneeringly,  as  he  recalls  the  conceits  of  his  youth  ;  and 
the  hoary-haired  thinker  lives  already  amid  the  peace  and  joy  of 
invisible  scenes,  or  if  he  go  back,  living  in  memory  rather  than  in 
expectation,  it  is  so  ideally  as  to  divest  his  recollections  of  all  that 
was  transient  and  unlovely.  It  is  worth  while  to  halt  a  moment 
that  we  may  see  the  bearing  of  this  common  fact  upon  the  special 
doctrine  under  examination.  In  approaching  the  mystery  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  we  may  be  but  approaching  the  highest  expression  of  a 
mystery  which  is  continually  ruling  the  whole  economy  of  human 
progress.  Whatever  we  may  believe  about  the  personality  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  we  cannot  get  away  from  the  fact  of  spirituality  in  our 
own  consciousness.  The  spiritual  world  of  the  wise  man  increases 
every  day  ;  and,  strangely  enough,  in  point  of  coincidence,  that 
very  increase  becomes  to  him  what  the  Holy  Ghost  becomes  to  the 
Church,  namely,  a  Comforter  ;  so  much  so,  that  the  wise  man  is 
never  desolate,  nor  can  any  fool  trouble  the  depths  of  his  peace. 
This  is  the  first  testament  between  man  and  God  ;  is  it  not  meant 
to  introduce  a  higher  covenant .?  To  the  intellectual  man,  the 
Christian  appeal  is  this  :  You  have  a  spiritual  consciousiiess,  to 
which  Jesus  Christ  would  add  a  spiritual  personality  ;  you  have  the 
spirit  of  interpretation,  add  to  it  the  spirit  of  sanctification  ;  you 
have  received  the  preliminary  baptism,  receive  also  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

These  suggestions  point  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  the  reasonable  completion  of  theological  revelation,  and  as  such 
his  ministry  is  an  impregnable  proof  of  the  reasonableness  of 
Christianity.  In  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  truth  was  outward, 
visible,  and  most  beautiful  :  in  the  person  of  the  Holy  Ghost  truth 
is  inward,  spiritual,  all-transfiguring.  By  the  very  necessity  of  the 
case  the  bodily  Christ  could  be  but  a  passing  figure  ;  but  by  a 
gracious  mystery  he  caused  himself  to  be  succeeded  by  an  eternal 


RATIONAL  ASSENT.  305 

Presence,  "  even  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  which  abideth  for  ever."  It 
is  claimed,  then,  on  behalf  of  Christianity,  that  there  is  a  Holy 
Ghost,  and  to  this  doctrine  is  invited  not  only  the  homage  of  the 
heart,  but  the  full  assent  of  the  most  robust  and  dispassionate  un- 
derstanding. 


XXXV. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  thy  claim  upon  our  worship  is  unceasing,  for  thy 
mercy,  like  thy  majesty,  endureth  for  ever.  Thou  dost  never  withhold 
thine  hand  from  giving  good  gifts  unto  thy  children.  As  thou  hast  made 
them  in  thine  own  image  and  likeness,  and  hast  implanted  within  them 
desires  which  the  world  can  never  satisfy,  so  thou  dost  specially  reveal 
thyself  unto  them  day  by  day,  appeasing  their  hunger  with  bread  from 
heaven,  and  quenching  their  thirst  with  water  out  of  the  river  of  God. 
Oftentimes  have  we  said  concerning  thy  Son,  "  We  will  not  have  this 
man  to  reign  over  us."  But  when  we  have  tasted  the  bitterness  of  sin, 
and  have  been  convinced  of  our  own  emptiness  and  helplessness,  when 
heart  and  flesh  have  failed,  when  by  the  ministry  of  thy  Holy  Spirit  we 
have  come  to  understand  somewhat  of  thine  own  holiness  and  mercy  and 
love,  our  hearts'  desire  has  been  that  Jesus  might  sit  upon  the  throne  of 
our  love,  and  rule  our  whole  life  ;  that  he  might  be  King  of  Kings,  and 
Lord  of  Lords,  our  Redeemer  the  Mighty  One  of  Israel.  We  desire  to 
live  unto  the  glory  of  God,  to  understand  the  meaning  of  the  gift  of  life 
with  which  we  have  been  blessed.  Thou  hast  entrusted  us  with  solemn 
responsibilities  ;  enable  us  to  understand  their  meaning,  to  feel  their  press- 
ure, and  to  respond  with  all  our  hearts  to  their  demands.  Let  thy  bless- 
ing rest  upon  us  whilst  we  are  here  this  morning.  May  this  house  be 
unto  us  as  the  gate  of  heaven  ;  may  weary  souls  recover  their  strength 
and  tone.  May  desponding  hearts  be  revived  and  comforted  with  the 
consolation  of  God.  May  worldly  minds  be  given  to  feel  that  there  is  a 
world  higher  than  the  present  ;  that  round  about  us  is  the  great  sea  of 
thine  eternity  !  May  we  be  prepared  for  all  the  future,  having  our  hearts 
saved  through  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  depend  upon  thy  Holy 
Spirit  ;  we  will  not  look  unto  our  own  resources  except  as  they  present 
themselves  as  the  gifts  of  God.  We  will  rely  upon  thy  power  :  we  will 
cry  mightily  unto  our  God  !  Thou  wilt  hear  us  ;  thou  wilt  redeem  our 
souls  from  all  fear  ;  thou  wilt  inspire  us  %vith  immortal  hope  ;  thou  wilt 
clothe  us  with  adequate  power.  Cleanse  our  hearts  by  the  precious  blood 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Show  to  us,  more  and  more,  the  meaning  of  the 
mystery  of  his  dear  Cross.  May  we  find  all  that  is  deepest  and  truest  in 
our  own  life,  symbolized  in  that  Cross  of  Jesus.  May  it  be  the  answer 
to  our  sin,  the  remedy  of  our  diseases,  the  one  hope  of  our  wondering 
and  anxious  souls-!     Amen. 


SCRIPTURE  COMPARED   WITH  SCRIPTURE.       307 


THE  HOLY   SPIRIT   AS   THE  INTERPRETER 
OF   SCRIPTURE. 

PERHAPS  there  is  no  function  assigned  to  the  Holy  Spirit 
more  important  for  us  to  understand  than  that  by  which  he 
assures  to  the  church  a  profound  and  correct  interpretation  of 
Scripture.  According  to  the  teaching  of  the  apostle  Peter  (than 
whom  no  man  was  more  experimentally  qualified  to  speak  on  the 
subject,  seeing  that  he  had  often  been  rebuked  for  his  impetuous 
treatment  of  divine  utterances),  "  no  prophecy  of  the  Scripture  is 
of  any  private  interpretation  ;"  and  the  reason  which  he  gives  for 
this  is  philosophically  satisfactory,  viz.,  as  the  prophecy  did  not 
come  by  the  will  of  man  it  cannot  be  fully  comprehended  and  ex- 
plained by  the  intellectual  power  of  man.  In  this  case  man  was 
an  instrument  in  receiving  and  pronouncing  the  word,  and  he 
must  be  an  instrument  also  in  the  study  and  mastery  of  its  mean- 
ing. As  holy  men  of  God  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
speak,  so  they  must  be  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  feel  and  un- 
derstand, the  divine  oracle.  Yet  above  all  other  books  the  Bible 
calls  for  exposition  ;  its  very  form  sets  at  naught  the  laws  of  liter- 
ary structure,  whilst  all  its  problems  and  questionings  have  about 
them  the  solemn  yet  fascinating  weirdness  of  an  unknown  origin 
and  purpose.  Its  preface  is  simply — "  In  the  beginning  God," 
and  its  epilogue  is  a  curse  on  the  man  who  takes  away  aught  of  its 
sacred  store.  Between  these  extremes,  so  appropriate  yet  so  start- 
ling, is  found  the  apostolic  caution  not  to  enclose  for  selfish  uses 
any  portion  of  the  freehold  meant  for  the  whole  world.  The  very 
fact  that  a  protest  is  entered  against  the  narrowness  and  insuffi- 
ciency of  "  private  interpretation"  should  beget  a  deeper  confidence 
in  the  divinity  and  consequent  pureness  of  the  revelation.  On 
the  other  hand,  what  becomes  of  the  right  of  private  judgment  ? 
Can  it  be  maintained  without  extorting  from  the  holy  word  mis- 
taken sanctions  of  personal  crotchets  or  sectarian  hobbies  ?  Are 
unholy  men  to  be  turned  promiscuously  into  the  Book,  and  told 
to  get  out  of  it  such  advantages  as  they  may  suppose  themselves  to 
find  ?  Is  it  so,  or  otherwise  ?  This  is  a  delicate  inquiry,  demand- 
ing treatment  that  shall  in  its  human  aspect  be  austerely  reverent. 
It  is  evident  that  the  inevitable  and  most  serious  perils  attending 


3o8  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

"  private  interpretation"  constitute  an  unanswerable  argument 
against  it,  as  its  exercise  is  commonly  understood.  Yes  ;  the 
perils  are  inevitable  as  well  as  most  serious,  /or  in  the  first  instance 
attention  must  of  course  be  fixed  on  the  letter,  and  the  letter 
brings  up  instantly  some  of  the  most  vexatious  difficulties  arising 
out  of  secondary  interpretation,  that  is  secondary  in  point  of  value 
and  importance.  There  is,  if  one  may  so  put  it,  a  battle  of  gram- 
mars as  well  as  a  battle  of  doctrines,  and  by  the  very  nature  of  the 
case  it  is  but  a  small  minority  of  mankind  that  can  take  an  en- 
lightened and  helpful  part  in  such  a  controversy.  Think  of  the 
intellectual  training  that  is  needful,  the  self-control,  the  patience, 
the  thorough  acquaintance  with  comparative  philogy,  and  the  in- 
explicable sympathy  which y^^/j  the  meaning  it  cannot  see.  But 
turn  untrained  and  spiritually  incompetent  men  into  a  literature 
of  which  in  its  original  form  they  are  wholly  ignorant,  and  who 
does  not  see  that  the  results  must  be  at  once  critically  absurd  and 
spiritually  calamitous  ?  Unfortunately  the  only  man  who  does  not 
see  this  is  the  man  whose  pride  is  wounded  by  the  suggestion  that 
there  is  some  difference  between  a  literal  form  and  a  spiritual 
meaning,  and  the  consequence  of  his  humiliation  is  that  he  repeats 
his  errors  with  the  greater  emphasis,  and  proclaims  that  his  most 
sacred  rights  are  threatened  or  denied.  Then  there  is  the  certain 
danger  of  fixing  attention  upon  isolated  passages,  and  so  setting 
up  denominations  and  schools  upon  texts,  which  being  torn  from 
the  vital  body  of  evidence,  are  perverted  and  exaggerated  to  the 
point  of  impiety, — the  worst  sort  of  impiety,  too,  namely,  the  sort 
which  sets  aside  common  sense  and  literary  rectitude  under  the 
pretence  of  superior  sanctity  and  more  humble  faith.  Is  there  a 
single  monstrosity  in  the  religious  world  that  does  not  defend  it- 
self by  some  stray  line  of  scripture,  which  if  compared  with  other 
testimony,  and  read  in  the  light  of  Jesus  Christ's  method  of  quota- 
lion — "  it  is  written  again' — would  assume  another  meaning,  and 
probably  tend  in  an  opposite  direction  ?  Can  we  wonder  that  such 
partial  interpretation  is  forbidden  in  Scripture  itself,  and  that  the 
Bible  prays  to  be  protected  from  the  ravages  of  bigoted  and  igno- 
rant men  }  That  the  Bible  exposes  itself  to  such  ravages  is  ob- 
viously in  its  favour,  as  suggesting  that  it  is  not  cunningly  fabricat- 
ed and  defended  as  a  work  of  literary  art,  but  that  it  comes  upon 
the  world  as  a  living  and  generous  revelation  of  spiritual  truth  ad- 


THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  309 

dressed  to  the  attention  of  the  whole  human  family  throughout 
all  the  ages  of  its  progress,  and  so  addressed  (for  there  is  a  ques- 
tion of  manner  as  well  as  of  matter)  as  to  challenge  the  most  care- 
ful and  unselfish  thoughtfulness  on  the  part  of  those  who  receive  it. 
Given  a  God  to  find  out  what  degree  and  quality  of  revelation  He 
will  grant,  and  no  human  mind  would  ever  indicate  such  a  book, 
as  to  structure  and  method,  as  the  Bible.  What  dramatic  action, 
rapidity  of  movement,  brokenness  of  style,  and  apparent  incohe- 
rence of  plan  !  What  little  things  are  exaggerated,  what  obscure 
names  are  preserved,  what  trivial  incidents  are  magnified  !  Stones 
enough,  but  where  is  the  altar  }  Life  in  profusion,  but  how  does 
it  individualise  itself  into  friendship,  sympathy,  and  benediction  } 
In  proportion  to  the  life  that  is  infused  into  any  work  would  seem 
to  be  its  exposure  to  variety  and  keenness  of  criticism.  Insipid 
books  soon  find  the  way  into  oblivion,  but  books  that  have  life 
compel  the  world  to  read  them  even  though  the  reading  lead  to 
anger  and  hostility.  A  painted  portrait  offers  more  points  of  at- 
tack than  a  photograph,  though  the  subject  be  the  same  ;  neces- 
sarily so  ;  there  is  more  life  in  the  one  than  in  the  other ;  the  sun 
is  said  to  be  a  faithful  painter,  but  that  is  not  an  unquestionable 
statement, — the  sun  cannot  get  at  the  soul  ;  only  soul  can  paint 
soul,  only  life  can  delineate  life  ;  man  can  see  his  shadow  anywhere, 
but  where  can  he  see  himself  ?  As  the  portrait  will  excite  more 
criticism  than  the  photograph,  so  the  living  man  will,  by  a  glance 
or  an  attitude,  a  tone  or  a  smile,  elicit  a  thousand  remarks  which 
the  most  brilliant  painting  could  never  have  suggested.  So  much 
for  the  subtle  illimitableness  of  life  !  Is  it  just  to  determine  the 
character  of  a  man  by  a  single  feature  of  his  personality, — a  feat- 
ure detached  and  viewed  apart }  We  should  then  have  one  esti- 
mate founded  upon  his  stature,  another  upon  his  voice,  a  third 
upon  his  mien,  a  fourth  upon  his  face,  and  so  on  according  to 
:  the  fancy  of  each  observer,  and  yet  we  should,  amidst  all  this  vari- 
ety, have  little  or  no  idea  of  the  man  himself  :  we  should  still  re- 
quire an  estimate  which  recognised  the  relation  of  the  parts  to  the 
whole,  and  distinguished  the  incidental  from  the  vital  and  insepara- 
ble. So  in  the  work  of  Biblical  interpretation, — there  must  be  an 
eye  that  can  take  in  the  whole  landscape  and  a  judgment  which 
can  allow  for  distance,  light,  and  colour. 

How,   then,  to  realise  these  conditions  and  to  bring  them  to 


31  o  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

bear  ?  And  especially  how  to  do  so  as  not  to  deprive  any  man 
of  his  Bible  by  shaming  him  into  the  consciousness  of  utter  in- 
ability to  read  what  he  has  hitherto  prized  as  the  plainest  and 
wisest  of  books.  He  will  not,  as  he  ought  not,  give  up  the  Bible 
easily  ;  and  probably  he  will  insist  on  the  right  of  private  judg- 
ment, and  in  a  moment  of  jealous  anger  may  claim  equality  of 
power  with  his  teacher  or  friend.  But  such  vehemence  will  be 
misspent  if  directed  against  the  present  argument,  inasmuch  as  it 
has  no  felonious  intent  upon  any  man's  Bible  or  upon  the  rights 
of  any  man's  conscience.  The  question  is,  How  to  make  the 
most  of  the  Bible  ;  how  to  get  at  its  proper  spiritual  meaning  ; 
and  how  to  express  its  revelations  in  the  daily  behaviour  of  life  ? 
Is  every  man  qualified  to  interpret  and  decide  the  purpose  of  the 
Scriptures  .''  From  the  point  of  view  of  this  argument,  interpreta- 
tion is  the  result  of  spiritual  preparedness,  and  spiritual  prepared- 
ness is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  A  reader  going  to  the  Bible 
in  a  self-sufBcient  and  self-dependent  spirit  will  narrow  and  dis- 
honour it  by  private  interpretation,  and  probably  bring  from  its 
perusal  nothing  higher  than  a  crotchet ;  but  going  to  it  in  another 
spirit  he  may  see  it  and  know  it  as  a  revelation  from  heaven. 

What,  then,  is  .that  other  spirit }  It  is  so  specifically  defined  by 
an  apostle  as  to  prevent  all  doubt  of  its  meaning  ;  it  is  "  the  spirit 
of  power,  and  of  love,  and  of  a  sound  mind,"  and  this  spirit  is 
the  direct  gift  of  God  !  He  who  is  thus  qualified  can  make  no 
vital  mistakes  in  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  ;  whilst  he  who  has 
every  other  qualification  but  this  will  never  apprehend  the  genius 
and  purpose  of  the  Bible.  So,  instead  of  taking  the  book  from  its 
humblest  reader,  this  argument  would  make  it  doubly  his,  and 
enrich  him  with  the  most  comforting  promises  throughout  its 
perusal.  This  qualification  will  give  a  man  so  just  an  estimate  of 
his  own  powers  as  will  save  him  from  meddling  with  things  which 
are  too  high  for  him,  and  will  move  him  with  so  enlightened  and 
gracious  a  charity  as  will  guard  him  from  the  self-exaggeration 
which  expresses  itself  in  illiberal  censure  or  contemptuous  distrust. 
Under  the  influence  of  a  "  sound  mind"  he  will  remember  that 
there  are  some  things  in  the  Bible  which  are  not  meant  to  be  de- 
tcrminately  interpreted,  and  thus  he  will  escape  the  vexation 
which  follows  abortive  efforts  to  explain  and  understand  every 
mystery;   "  the  sp.irit  of  love"  will   dictate  large  and  generous  in- 


THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  311 

terp relations  of  difficulties  ;  and  "  the  spirit  of  power"  will  liber- 
ate him  from  the  bondage  and  hardness  of  the  mere  letter.  It 
may  be  worth  while  to  vary  the  wording  of  so  important  a  doctrine, 
if  haply  we  may  set  it  in  a  clearer  light.  Given,  then,  a  man  who 
approaches  the  Bible  in  a  "  spirit  of  power,  of  love,  and  of  a  sound 
mind,"  and  the  following  results  will  certainly  attend  his  reading  : 
first  of  all,  he  will  carefully  distinguish  between  what  is  particular 
and  what  is  universal,  because  his  whole  manhood  will  be  enlarged 
and  elevated  according  to  the  grandeur  of  the  occasion  ;  in  the 
next  place,  he  will  be  dispossessed  of  every  desire  to  propagate 
theories  of  his  own,  and  so  to  strain  and  debase  the  Bible  into 
an  ex-parte  witness  ;  and  in  the  third  place,  he  will  be  so  com- 
pletely under  the  dominion  of  "  the  spirit  of  love"  as  to  be  saved 
from  the  persistent  and  impious  self-conceit  which  is  the  very  main- 
spring of  ungenerous  and  demoralising  zealotry.  He  will  go  to 
the  Bible  in  quest  of  God ;  he  will  go  to  it  in  a  spirit  of  self-con- 
trol ;  he  will  read  it  that  he  may  find  a  Gospel,  not  that  he  may 
confirm  a  creed.  The  right  of  private  judgment  will  thus  be  held 
in  the  interests  of  humanity,  and  the  private  reader  will,  in  the 
best  sense,  become  a  public  interpreter.  Under  these  conditions 
let  every  man  have  the  Bible  for  his  own  use,  for  he  cannot  forget 
that  it  is  the  book  of  God  and  the  charter  of  the  world. 

Undoubtedly  each  reader  will  have  his  favorite  passages, — texts 
to  which  he  will  turn  in  danger  or  sorrow  with  special  expectation, 
and  promises  which  will  seem  to  have  been  expressly  written  for 
his  personal  use.  This  is  natural  and  unavoidable  ;  it  is  even 
useful  and  edifying,  as  showing  the  illimitableness,  the  variety,  the 
infinite  adaptation  and  sufficiency  of  biblical  doctrine  and  coun- 
sel. It  is  thus  that  each  reader  reprints  the  Bible,  and  that  each 
life  repronounces,  with  individual  emphasis  and  unction,  the  right- 
eous commandment  and  the  tender  promise.  Still,  this  legitimate 
privacy  of  enjoyment  and  sense  of  invincible  security  is  happily 
compatible  with  all  that  is  claimed  on  behalf  of  the  universality  of 
the  Bible.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  divine  promise  of 
satisfaction  in  all  spiritual  inquiries  is  independent  of  accidental, 
technical,  or  arbitrary  conditions,  and  is  made  to  rest  solely  upon 
the  spiritual  temper  and  purpose  of  the  inquirer.  In  this  respect 
the  Bible  is  wholly  unlike  all  other  books.  Letters  can  be  inter- 
preted by  letters  ;  but  here  is  a  book  in  the  reading  of  which  lit- 


312  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

erary  instruments  can  give  but  secondar}'  and  imperfect  help  ;  a 
book  which  says — You  must  read  me  through  your  hearts  if  you 
would  see  all  the  fulness  of  any  meaning.  A  few  proofs  will  show 
the  scope  and  quality  of  the  whole  evidence.  "  To  this  man  will 
I  look,  even  to  him  that  is  poor  and  of  a  contrite  spirit,  and  that 
trembleth  at  My  word."  "Thus  saith  the  high  and  lofty  One 
that  inhabitcth  eternity,  whose  name  is  Holy  ;  I  dwell  in  the  high 
and  holy  place,  with  him  also  that  is  of  a  contrite  and  humble 
spirit,  to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble,  and  to  revive  the  heart  of 
the  contrite  ones."  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Such  conditions  are  in  happy  conso- 
nance with  the  genius  of  any  revelation  meant  for  the  use  of  the 
whole  world  ;  everything  that  is  merely  national,  temporary, 
casual,  or  adventitious  is  ignored,  and  a  great  human  condition, 
independent  of  place  and  time,  is  asked  for  by  the  merciful  and 
condescending  God, — "  the  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit  ; 
a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God,  Thou  wilt  not  despise," — 
the  things  of  the  spiritual  kingdom  are  hidden  from  the  wise  and 
prudent,  and  are  revealed  unto  babes  ;  so  it  seemed  good  in  the 
Father  s  eyes. 

We  shall  never  be  able  to  dispense  with  literal  criticism  in  read- 
ing and  interpreting  the  holy  oracles,  simply  because  they  are 
made  known  to  us  through  a  literal  medium  ;  but  probably  we 
have  yet  to  receive  the  profoundest  commentary  upon  those  ora- 
cles, because  we  have  yet  to  attain  the  spiritual  purity  and  sensi- 
tiveness necessary  to  their  fullest  apprehension.  What  is  true  of 
the  written  commentary  is  true  also  of  the  oral  exposition. 
Preaching  will  undergo  modifications  which  some  of  the  ciders 
would  have  deemed  startling,  and  perhaps  more  than  startling. 
It  will  have  to  throw  off  everything  narrow  and  technical,  and  to 
speak  the  universal  love  in  the  universal  language.  It  is  not  un- 
kind to  say  that  the  pulpit,  here  and  there  at  least,  is  marked  by  a 
smart  trickery  infinitely  out  of  place,  and  truly  pitiable,  in  this 
matter  of  biblical  interpretation.  Probably  the  inspired  writers 
would  be  shocked  could  they  know  how  their  utterances  are 
broken  up  into  what  are  called  "  texts,"  and  what  hothouse  forc- 
ing there  is  in  making  a  little  text  grow  in  one  hour  into  a  long 
discourse.  No  doubt  a  good  deal  could  be  said  about  the  botany 
of  a  single  blade. of  grass,  but  the  fiock  is  starving  whilst  the  green 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  WHOLE.  313 

pastures  are  interdicted  by  the  fluent  but  most  unshepherdly  botan- 
ist. Text-beating  is  most  irreligious  work,  and  woefully  thriftless 
as  to  pastoral  service.  Clever,  no  doubt, — showing  skill  in  word- 
twisting  and  literary  legerdemain,  thus  making  vulgar  people  won- 
der how  the  preacher  can  find  so  much  in  a  vessel  so  small,  — but 
no  more.  An  impious  cleverness,  leading  away  from  interpreta- 
tions profound,  beneficent,  wise,  such  as  restore  the  soul  and 
magnify  the  excellence  of  truth,  into  critical  nibbling,  and  into 
rhetorical  clamour  where  one  cannot  hear  the  little  sense  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  noise.  Spiritual  interpretation  is  directed  differ- 
ently. It  is  not  so  much  textual  as  biblical, — that  is,  pervaded  by 
the  very  life  and  purpose  of  truth,  and  in  harmony  with  the  whole 
plan  of  the  universe.  Great  expositors  will  be  less  anxious  that 
their  hearers  should  listen  to  a  discourse  upon  a  particular  sentence, 
than  that  they  should  comprehend  the  meaning  of  a  whole  epistle. 
Who  thinks  of  giving  out  the  epistle  to  the  Galatians  as  his  text, 
or  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  or  the  Gospel  by  John  }  Would  this 
be  inconvenient  ?  Probably  so  ;  yet  (and  this  is  the  point  of  the 
suggestion)  it  is  possible  to  go  through  the  parts  in  the  spirit  of  the 
whole,  as  it  is  lamentably  actual  that  the  whole  is  often  slurred  as 
if  it  were  a  chaos  of  unrelated  parts.  Will  it  be  arbitrary  to  insist 
that  the  part  can  be  thoroughly  understood  only  in  the  light  of  the 
whole  ?  To  hesitate  to  say  so,  is  to  save  the  feeling  of  preachers 
who,  through  no  irreverence  or  idleness,  may  have  spent  the  most 
of  a  public  lifetime  in  seriously  dishonoring  the  Bible  in  the  very 
act  of  preaching  from  many  of  its  texts. 

It  may  be  asked.  How  far  is  an  expositor  of  the  Scriptures  at  lib- 
erty to  depend  upon  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  pub- 
lic interpretation  of  the  word  }  No  categorical  answer  ought  to 
be  given  to  an  inquiry  like  this,  in  which  there  is  probably  more 
implied  than  is  expressed  ;  still,  the  inquiry  is  of  the  first  import- 
ance as  bearing  upon  ministerial  responsibility  and  Christian  edifi- 
cation. We  must  recognise  the  difference  between  Interpretation 
and  Utterance.  Interpretation  may  come  slowly  ;  in  some  cases 
it  may  be  the  reward  of  patient  diligence,  in  others  it  may  come 
suddenly  and  startlingly.  Interpretations  are  often  given  in  the 
course  of  silent,  devout,  expectant  reading,  and,  from  our  point 
of  view,  this  would  seem  to  be  the  natural  application  of  the  divine 
method  ;  yet  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  must  not  be  limited,  nor  His 


314  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

pleasure  be  questioned  or  thwarted  by  the  obstinacy  of  man.  To 
go  into  the  pulpit  and  stand  there  avowedly  waiting  for  inspiration 
to  understand  the  word  would  seem  to  be  but  one  remove  (if  in- 
deed it  be  so  much)  from  the  most  impious  affectation  ;  that, 
surely,  would  be  to  limit  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  under  pretence 
of  magnifying  his  power.  A  written  revelation  implies  by  the 
very  terms  that  it  may  be  considered  and  pondered  in  quietness  ; 
it  is  already  in  existence  ;  it  is  within  reach  ;  it  is  by  its  very  nat- 
ure an  appeal  to  devout  regard' ;  why  wait  for  public  circumstances 
under  which  to  inquire  into  its  import }  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  question  relate  to  Utterance  rather  than  to  interpretation,  the 
reply  may  be  fairly  modified.  Life  itself  is  not  the  same  thing 
alike  under  private  and  public  conditions  ;  it  admits  of  expansion, 
of  electrical  sympathy,  of  subtle  combination  with  the  living  ele- 
ments and  influences  around  it,  and  under  high  excitement  it  will 
surprise  itself  by  the  variety  and  intensity  of  its  emotions.  All  this 
may  come  without  any  suggestion  of  what  is  known  as  divine  in- 
spiration ;  it  is  rather  human  inspiration,  man  quickening  man  as 
iron  sharpeneth  iron.  It  may,  however,  have  its  counterpart  and 
complement  in  the  direct  action  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  the  in- 
tellectual and  spiritual  faculties  ;  and  where  that  action  supervenes 
there  will  almost  certainly  be  enlarged  power  of  sympathy  and  ex- 
pression. It  cannot,  other  things  being  equal,  be  an  offence  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  ask  him  for  extemporaneous  utterance  that  shall 
reach  the  hearts  of  the  congregation, — a  very  different  thing,  be  it 
observed,  from  literary  expression,  sentences  meant  for  a  book, 
paragraphs  measured  and  numbered  for  printing.  There  is  an  ut- 
terance which  belongs  to  the  speaker  and  not  to  the  writer,  an 
urgent,  rapid,  percussive,  and  living  utterance,  that  cannot  be 
printed.  In  the  very  hour  of  duty  such  utterance  shall  be  given 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  the  faithful  and  honest  servant.  But  ought 
not  a  minister  to  prepare  his  sermon  }  There  we  come  upon  a 
difTiculty, — the  difficulty  of  scniionising,  writing  and  speaking  by  the 
hour-glass,  and  running  the  risk  of  artificialising  the  divincst  life. 
Preaching  so  soon  becomes  an  art,  a.  craft,  a  profession.  A  ser- 
mon is  so  measurable,  so  cold,  so  little,  as  commonly  understood, 
only  a  mouthful,  a  hollow  word  perhaps,  an  uncertain  sound  may 
be.  Yet  what  should  it  be .-'  A  stream  of  life,  love,  light, — the 
vcr}'  blood   of   the   heart,  the   very   divinity   of  life.      To   talk   of 


SELF-PREPARATION  OF  PREACHERS.  315 

"  preparing"  it,  is  to  run  a  great  risk  of  talking  insanity,  and  yet, 
as  generally  thought  of,  what  can  be  easier  than  to  ' '  prepare' '  a 
sermon  !  Will  it  be  unduly  bold  on  the  part  of  a  writer  to  give 
counsel  to — what  ought  to  be  the  greatest  of  all  men — the  Chris- 
tian preacher  ?  The  advice  would  be,  not  that  he  should  prepare 
his  sermon,  but  that  he  should  prepare  himself.  His  exegesis  he 
has  of  course  prepared  in  secret  ;  he  has  meditated  upon  it  in  the 
night-watches,  and  prevented  the  day  by  an  eager  desire  to  know  i 
still  more  perfectly  ;  he  knows  what  things  new  and  old  he  has  in 
the  treasury,  and  as  for  his  searching  of  the  Scriptures,  he  has  dug 
in  them  as  lor  choice  silver  and  stones  of  great  price.  So  far  the 
preparation  has  been  honest,  full,  even  jealous  less  aught  should 
have  failed  in  the  minuteness  of  detail  ;  but  as  to  verbal  expres- 
sion, what  if  he  should  have  left  it  to  the  inspiration  of  the  mo- 
ment ?  Were  it  a  question  of  mere  phraseology,  there  is  no  reason 
why  he  might  not  have  prepared  it  in  secret  ;  but  it  is  phraseology 
with  a  difference  :  it  is  phraseology //wj",  and  what  that//«-r  is  no 
man  can  determine  exhaustively.  Perhaps  it  is  most  fitly  express- 
ed by  the  word  life, — that  word  being  a  compound  of  such  terms 
as  sympathy,  rapport,  adaptation,  responsiveness.  When  the 
preacher  knows  his  subject,  .and  clearly  apprehends  the  line  upon 
which  his  thought  is  to  proceed,  it  may  show  a  trustful  and  hum- 
ble spirit  on  his  part  to  depend  upon  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  gift 
of  suitable  and  efficient  utterance.  But  may  he  not  write,  so  to 
speak,  to  the  dictation  of  the  Holy  Ghost }  He  would  be  a  bold 
man  who  would  answer  such  an  inquiry  in  the  negative  ;  yet  he 
might  be  reverent  and  wise  in  hesitating  (considering  the  peculiar 
vocation  of  the  pulpit)  to  answer  it  in  the  affirmative.  "  But  may 
the  preacher  not  stumble,  blunder,  or  utterly  fail }  May  he  not 
be  disquieted  and  indeed  disabled  by  the  fear  of  man  }  How  de- 
plorable that  it  should  be  so  !"  Such  a  suggestion  is  certainly 
not  without  foundation  in  natural  reasons,  yet  the  "  deplorable- 
ness"  which  is  deprecated  is  not  without  mitigation  when  viewed 
in  a  proper  light.  It  is  out  of  weakness  that  good  men  are  made 
strong  ;  it  is  by  their  falling  that  they  learn  lessons  which  are 
denied  to  the  proud  and  the  strong  ;  it  is  by  the  very  earthenness 
of  the  vessel  that  the  excellence  of  the  power  is  often  vindicated 
and  magnified, — so  these  human  stammerings  and  down-breaks 
may  not  be  so  deplorable  as  was  supposed.      "But  to  fail  in  the 


316  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

pulpit — to  come  to  a  standstill  !"  Painful  no  doubt,  but  not  at  all 
necessary  as  a  consequence  of  depending  upon  the  Holy  Ghost. 
It  is  human  fear,  not  human  piety,  that  suggests  the  collapse  and 
shame.  But  what  is  failure  P  What  is  success  P  There  may  be 
a  misapprehension  and  a  misapplication  of  terms  in  such  a  discus- 
sion. "  A  preacher  has  read  his  discourse  with  unbroken  fluency  : 
that  is  success  ;"  so  it  may  be  said,  but  the  opinion  may  be  un- 
sound notwithstanding  its  positiveness.  The  fluent  reader  may 
have  failed.  He  may  not  have  lingually  stumbled,  and  yet  he 
may  have  spiritually  broken  down,  and  grieved  the  spirit  of  God. 
His  break-down  was  not  towards  earth  but  towards  heaven,  to  man 
he  was  a  hero  much  applauded  and  flattered  ;  to  God  and  the 
angels,  what  if  he  was  a  coward  and  a  hireling  much  pitied  and 
wept  over!  "Failure"  is  a  word  often  wantonly  used  in  the 
church,  greatly  to  the  grief  of  honest  workers  and  godly  souls. 
But  supposing  what  is  usually  called  "  failure,"  under  the  condi- 
tions demanded  by  this  argument,  who  is  it  that  has  failed  ? 
Man  ?  God  ?  Having  strict  regard  to  the  conditions  insisted 
upon  in  this  contention,  it  was  certainly  not  man  that  failed,  and 
therefore  we  must  leave  the  blasphemy  of  the  alternative  answer  to 
those  who  can  utter  it.  One  thing  only  we  must  ask  to  be  borne 
in  mind,  namely,  that  there  is  a  success  which  is  failure,  there  is  a 
failure  which  is  success.  Given  the  kind  and  degree  of  depend- 
ence upon  the  Spirit  of  God  indicated  above,  and  probably  there 
may  be  great  changes  in  the  form  or  mode  of  public  ministration. 
Sermons  may  be  less  artistic,  language  may  be  less  ornate  or 
polished,  appeals  may  be  more  abrupt  and  penetrating,  methodical 
propriety  may  be  disorganised,  the  pulpit  may  cease  to  be  a  refrig- 
erator :  great  changes  of  many  sorts  may  take  place, — amongst  the 
rest  the  Lord  himself  may  come  to  his  holy  temple  as  in  these 
latter  days  he  seldom  comes,  and  the  eloquent  orator  may  be 
silent  before  him.  In  the  olden  time  the  word  came  very  brokenly, 
but  did  it  not  come  with  wonderful  power?  Did  not  the  "  bab- 
bler" arrest  the  attention  of  the  world  and  force  new  themes  upon 
its  reluctant  consideration }  We  shall  be  told  that  times  have 
changed,  and  that  the  education  and  intelligence  of  the  age  must 
be  addressed.  Herein,  then,  the  disiinctiveticss  of  the  preacher  is 
in  danger  of  being  lost,  and  instead  of  standing  alone,  in  a  noble 
and  awful  solitude  as  to  method  and  claim,  he  may  become  but 


THE  INTERPRETER   TO  BE  PRAYED  FOR.        317 

one  of  a  crowd, — he  may  become  weak  as  other  men.  The  philo- 
sophical lecturer,  the  academician,  the  travelling  elocutionist,  the 
Christian  preacher,  each  has  his  manuscript  and  each  his  private 
art.  Where  is  the  ancient  distinctiveness  ?  Where  the  voice  of 
the  Lord,  the  background  of  eternity,  the  momentum  of  infini- 
tude, all  the  old  signals  of  a  direct  representation  of  the  Invisible 
and  Everlasting  }  Preaching  should  never  lose  its  disiinciiveness  ; 
it  should  stand  apart ;  all  coalitions  it  should  avoid  as  unholy 
and  unequal.  When  it  tampers  with  the  mean  idolatries  of  the 
common  art,  it  goes  astray  from  the  Cross,  and  sells  its  power  to 
the  enemy  ;  it  does  not  adapt  itself  to  the  age,  it  allows  the  age  to 
take  its  crown  and  to  despoil  its  power.  But  what  if  others  imi- 
tate the  preacher,  and  rival  him  in  his  peculiar  vocation  .?  Let 
them  try.  Their  imitation  will  be  the  highest  compliment ;  but 
beyond  imitation  they  can  never  go.  The  servant  of  the  Lord 
will  for  ever  hold  a  secret  entirely  his  own  ;  his  method  may  easily 
be  borrowed,  but  his  fire  is  hidden  where  thieves  cannot  break 
through  and  steal. 

As  for  this  Interpreter  of  the  book  and  Inspirer  of  the  ministry, 
he  is  to  be  had  for  asking.  "If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how 
to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children  ;  how  much  more  shall  your 
heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  spirit  unto  them  that  ask  him.-'" 
The  very  sublimity  of  simplicity  !  "Ye  have  not  because  ye  ask 
not,  or  because  ye  ask  amiss."  Who  can  tell  the  result  were 
every  man  resolutely,  with  all  love  and  zeal,  to  pray  for  a  double 
portion  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ? 


XXXVI. 

PRAYER. 

Oh,  Thou  who  art  merciful  and  gracious,  full  of  compassion  and  long- 
suffering  and  tenderness,  thou  art  kind  to  the  unthankful  and  to  the  evil  ! 
We  hasten  to  thee  with  our  offering  of  praise,  inasmuch  as  thou  hast 
crowned  our  life  with  loving  kindness  and  tender  mercy  and  made  it 
beautiful  with  continual  love.  We  praise  thee  ;  we  magnify  thee  ;  we 
offer  thee  the  whole  strength  of  our  heart.  We  hasten  to  thee  as  men 
who  have  been  mocked  by  the  promises  of  the  world,  and  who  long  to 
find  satisfaction  in  thy  infinite  and  unspeakable  peace.  We  have  been 
disappointed.  The  staff  has  been  broken  in  our  hand  and  pierced  us. 
We  mistook  the  scorpion  for  an  egg.  We  have  hewn  unto  ourselves  cis- 
terns ;  they  are  broken  cisterns,  which  can  hold  no  water.  Foiled,  smitten, 
wounded,  humiliated,  and  disgraced,  we  come  into  thy  presence,  knowing 
that  in  God,  as  revealed  in  the  person  and  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ  and 
made  known  unto  us  by  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  can  find  rest 
which  our  souls  could  not  find  elsewhere.  All  our  springs  are  in  thee. 
Thou  givest  us  what  we  need.  They  who  are  in  thy  presence,  who  live 
in  thy  light,  and  thy  love,  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more, 
neither  are  subjected  to  weariness  or  decay.  We  would  live  in  God.  We 
would  have  our  being  in  the  Eternal.  We  would  know  nothing  among 
men  but  Jesus,  and  him  crucified  ;  and  by  the  mystery  of  pain  and  the 
mystery  of  love,  symbolised  by  Christ's  Cross,  we  would  endure  the  trials 
of  the  world,  and  discharge  the  whole  service  of  life.  Meet  us  as  sinners, 
and  pardon  us  !  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son,  cleanseth  from 
all  sin."  May  we  know  its  cleansing,  healing  power  !  We  have  done 
the  things  we  ought  not  to  have  done  ;  we  have  withheld  the  testimony 
which  it  became  us  to  deliver  ;  we  have  often  been  timid  and  unfaithful  ; 
we  have  hesitated  when  we  ought  to  have  gone  forward  ;  we  have  com- 
promised where  we  ought  to  have  died  ;  we  have  become  self-seekers 
where  we  ought  to  have  sought  the  crown  of  martyrdom  ;  we  have  kept 
an  unjust  balance  and  an  untrue  weight  ;  our  measure  has  been  false  ; 
our  word  has  been  untrue  :  our  spirit  has  been  worldly  ;  our  very  prayers 
have  been  selfish.  All  this  we  say  when  we  truly  know  ourselves,  as  we 
are  revealed  to  ourselves  by  the  indwelling,  all-disclosing  Spirit.  "  God 
be  merciful  unto  us  sinners,"  and  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness  ! 
Give  us  the  hearing  ear,  and  the  understanding  heart,  the  obedient  will, 
the  ever-industrious  hand  in  the  service  of  Jesus  Christ.  When  we  have 
done  our  best  to  serve  our  day  and  generation,  and  the  time  of  reckoning 


AN  IMPORTANT  QUESTION.  319 

has  come,  may  we  find  all  our  worth  in  the  worthiness  of  the  Lamb,  and 
be  accounted  fit  to  sit  with  him  on  his  throne,  because  in  our  degree  we 
have  shared  the  pain  and  shame  of  his  crucifixion  !     Amen. 

THE   MINISTRY  OF  THE    COMFORTER. 

THE  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  respecting  the  ministry  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  so  pecuHar  as  to  raise  the  inquiry,  Where 
was  the  Holy  Ghost  during  the  earthly  ministry  of  the  Son  of 
man  ?  Throughout  the  Old  Testament  there  are  the  clearest  testi- 
monies as  to  his  personal  service  in  the  ancient  church,  and  yet 
Jesus  Christ  speaks  of  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  as  a  new  and  special 
gift  :  for  example — "  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you 
another  Comforter  ;"  "  the  Comforter  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost, 
whom  the  Father  will  send  in  My  name  ;"  "  If  I  go  not  away, 
the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you."  All  this  is  strange, 
almost  startling  indeed,  after  reading  the  Old  Testament.  Where 
was  the  Spirit  that  had  moved  on  the  face  of  the  waters,  that  had 
garnished  the  heavens,  that  had  striven  with  antediluvian  man, 
that  had  been  poured  out  upon  Israel  ?  Was  his  ministry  sus- 
pended 1  It  may  be  suggested  that  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit  had 
not  been  realised  in  the  ancient  church,  which  is  undoubtedly 
true  ;  yet  though  true  it  is  insufficient  to  account  for  the  treatment 
of  his  descent  as  a  new  visitation  and  benediction  of  God.  The 
answer  would  seem  rather  to  be,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  was  in  Jesus 
Christ  himself,  and  could  not  be  given  to  the  church  as  a  distinct- 
ively Christian  gift  until  the  first  period  of  the  incarnation  had  been 
consummated  in  the  Ascension  of  the  Son  of  man, — "  If  I  go  not 
away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you  ;  but  if  I  depart  I 
will  send  him  unto  you."  Jesus  Christ  was  Himself  the  New 
Testament  :  whatever  happened  aforetime  was  but  preparative  and 
typical  :  from  his  coming  the  world  was  to  date  its  regeneration 
and  the  church  was  to  reckon  its  birth,  "  In  him  dwelt  all  the 
fulness  of  the  godhead  bodily  ;"  and  when  the  influence  of  that 
godhead  was  poured  out  upon  the  church,  it  came  as  if  from  the 
very  heart  of  Christ,  and  was  impregnated  with  all  the  elements 
which  made  up  the  mystery  and  beneficence  of  the  Incarnation. 

Jesus  Christ  gives  a  specific  definition  of  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.     That  his  work  admitted  of  definition  is  itself  a  significant 


320  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

circumstance  ;  and  that  the  Son  of  Mary  should  have  presumed  to 
define  it  is  a  marvellous  instance  of  his  spiritual  dominion,  if  it  be 
not  a  covert  yet  daring  blasphemy.  At  this  point  Jesus  Christ 
seems  to  pass  from  the  theatre  within  which  he  had  dazzled  the 
eyes  of  curiosity  by  the  number  and  splendour  of  his  miracles, 
and  to  enter  into  the  holy  of  holies,  the  secret  place  of  the  Most 
High,  and  to  seat  himself  there  as  the  donor  of  spiritual  riches.  It 
is  a  withdrawment  (even  if  considered  merely  as  a  conception) 
which  invests  the  Man  with  peculiar  awe.  He  says  he  will  do 
mightier  works  than  ever  ;  he  will  touch  the  life,  the  will,  the  love, 
of  the  world  ;  he  will  ascend  above  principalities  and  powers,  and 
subject  all  hosts  and  forces  to  spiritual  control,  invisible  and 
almighty.  Daring,  truly,  was  this  Son  of  Mary  I  The  very  idea 
of  putting  the  spiritual  above  the  material,  and  consequently  of 
preferring  a  thought  to  a  mracle,  is  the  sublimity  which  seems  nar- 
rowly to  escape  the  charge  of  insanity.  Let  us  now  see  with  what 
simplicity  and  decisiveness  Jesus  Christ  defines  and  limits  the 
functions  of  the  Holy  Ghost  :  — 

1.  He  shall  not  speak  of  himself. 

2.  He  shall  glorify  Me. 

3.  He  will  guide  you  into  all  truth, 

4.  He  will  show  you  things  to  come. 

Besides  the  work  of  comfort  within  the  church,  he  has  a  great 
work  of  co?ividion  to  do  in  the  world  at  large  :  "  When  he  is  come, 
he  will  reprove  the  world  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judg- 
ment." It  will  be  convenient  to  study  primarily  the  function  of 
comfort  which  is  assigned  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  then  to  discuss 
the  ministry  of  conviction  which  he  is  to  conduct  in  the  hearts  of 
all  men. 

I.  '^  He  shall  not  speak  0/  Himself."  Why  not  ?  Because  he 
would  be  speaking  an  unknown  tongue.  We  cannot  understand 
the  purely  spiritual.  Whatever  we  know  of  it  must  come  through 
mediums  which  lie  nearer  our  own  nature.  The  ministry  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  therefore,  is  limited  only  because  we  ourselves  are 
limited.  The  whole  ministry  of  God  is  an  accommodation  to 
human  weakness.  When  he  would  teach  Iruih  he  must  needs  set 
it  in  the  form  of  fad  :  when  he  would  show  himself,  it  must  be 
through  the  tabernacle  of  our  own  flesh  ;  when  he  would  reveal 


CHRIST  SPIRITUALLY  GLORIFIED.  321 

heaven,  he  must  illustrate  his  meaning  by  the  fragments  of  light 
and  beauty  which  are  scattered  on  the  higher  side  of  our  own  in- 
ferior world.  Everywhere,  could  we  but  see  it,  he  has  set  up  a 
ladder  by  which  we  may  reach  the  skies.  God  would  have  talked 
to  us  without  any  intervention,  but  we  could  not  have  known  the 
meaning  of  utterances  which  were  not  bounded  and  illustrated  by 
things  lower  than  ourselves  ;  therefore  hath  he  set  his  taberna- 
cle in  the  sun,  and  made  manifest  his  invisible  kingdom  and 
power  by  the  wonderful  works  of  his  hands.  We  must  begin  with 
his  hand,  or  we  cannot  know  his  heart.  The  doubting  disciple 
said  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  only  the  print  of  the  nails  and  the  wound 
of  the  spear  could  convince  him  of  the  identity  of  the  Lord  :  and 
at  best  are  we  not  all,  by  the  pitifulness  of  the  great  mercy  of  God, 
allowed  to  begin  with  the  divine  hand  instead  of  going  at  once  into 
the  sanctuary  of  the  divine  heart }  The  Holy  Ghost  does  not 
speak  of  himself,  because  there  must  be  a  common  ground  upon 
which  he  can  invite  the  attention  of  mankind.  Where  or  what  is 
that  common  ground  .'' 

2.  '^  He  shall  glorify  Me."  The  common  ground  is  the  work 
of  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  What  is  meant  by  glorifying  Christ 
Jesus  .?  We  know  what  is  meant  by  the  sun  glorifying  the  earth. 
Let  us  familiarize  ourselves  with  that  process,  as  it  most  completely 
represents  the  spiritual  idea  now  under  consideration.  The  sun 
does  not  create  the  landscape.  The  mountain  and  the  sea  are  just 
as  high  and  as  wide  in  the  grey  cold  dawn  as  at  noonday.  The 
sun  adds  nothing  to  the  acreage  of  the  meadows  or  the  stature  of 
the  rocks.  Yet  how  wonderful  is  the  work  of  the  sun  !  Look 
upon  the  earth  in  the  pale  dawn,  and  watch  the  ministry  of  the 
sun  from  hour  to  hour.  How  the  light  strikes  the  hill,  burnishes 
the  sea,  flushes  the  trembling  dew,  and  makes  the  blossoming 
bush  burn  as  if  with  the  presence  of  God  !  Everything  was  there 
before,  yet  how  transfigured  by  the  ministry  of  light !  The  com- 
monest things  are  made  almost  beautiful  by  that  benign  service, 
and  as  for  the  higher  forms  of  culture  it  would  seem  as  if  one 
more  flash  of  sunshine  would  make  them  as  the  angels  of  God. 
In  this  respect,  what  light  is  to  the  earth,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  to 
Jesus  Christ.  The  Saviour  is  glorified  by  the  Spirit.  The  work 
of  the  Spirit  is  revelation,  not  creation.      He  does  not  make  Christ, 


322  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

he  explains  him.  The  sun  in  doing  all  his  wonderful  work  does 
not  speak  of  himself ;  he  will  not,  indeed,  allow  us  to  look  at 
him.  If  we  turn  our  eyes  upon  him  the  rebuke  is  prompt  and  in- 
tolerable :  the  language  of  that  rebuke  is — Look  at  the  earth,  not 
at  me  ;  see  the  opportunity  for  service  and  culture  which  is  given 
you  ;  do  not  intrude  upon  my  tabernacle,  but  work  within  your 
own  sphere  while  it  is  called  day.  The  Holy  Ghost,  in  like 
manner,  does  not  speak  of  himself.  He  will  not  answer  all  our 
inquiries  respecting  his  personality.  We  cannot  venture  with  im- 
punity beyond  a  well-defined  line.  To  the  very  last  men  will  en- 
quire, What  is  the  Holy  Ghost  1  Showing  that  all  attempts  at 
exhaustive  definition  have  ended  in  failure  and  disappointment. 
Yet  whilst  he  himself  is  the  eternal  secret,  his  work  is  open  and 
glorious.  His  text  is  Christ.  From  that  theme  he  never  strays. 
To  the  individual  consciousness  he  reveals  the  mystery  of  the 
beauty  of  Christ.  The  Christian  student  sees  a  Christ  which  he 
did  not  see  twenty  years  ago, — the  same,  yet  not  the  same  ;  larger, 
grander,  tenderer,  every  day  ;  a  new  music  in  His  speech,  an 
ampler  sufficiency  in  his  grace  ;  a  deeper  humiliation  in  his 
cradle  ;  a  keener  agony  in  his  cross.  This  increasing  revelation 
is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  is  the  fulfilment  of  Jesus 
Christ's  own  promise.  That  the  Son  of  Mary  should  have  claimed 
the  Holy  Ghost  as  his  interpreter.  Observe  this  as  an  incidental 
contribution  towards  the  completeness  and  harmony  of  the  mystery 
that  is  embodied  in  Christ  Jesus.  Regarded  in  this  light  it  is  very 
wonderful.  The  beginning  and  the  end  are  the  same, — equal  in 
mystery,  in  condenscension,  in  solemn  grandeur.  Thus  :  "  That 
which  is  conceived  in  her  is  of  the  Holy  Ghost," — this  is  the  be- 
ginning ;  "He  shall  not  speak  of  Himself,  He  shall  glorify 
Me  ;" — this  is  the  end :  are  the  tones  discordant.?  The  incania- 
tion  of  the  Son  of  God  was  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ;  how 
natural  that  the  explanation  of  the  Son  of  God  should  be  the  work 
of  the  same  minister  !  As  he  was  before  the  visible  Christ,  so  he 
was  to  be  after  him,  and  thus  the  whole  mystery  never  passed  from 
his  own  control. 

The  life  of  the  Son  of  man,  as  written  in  the  gospels,  needs  to 
be  glorified  !  He  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  a  man  of 
sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief :  he  had  not  where  to  lay  his 
head  :  he  gave  his  back  to  the  smiters,  and  his  cheeks  to  them  that 


THE  MIRACLE  OF  LIGHT.  323 

plucked  off  the  hair  :  he  made  himself  of  no  reputation  ;  he  hum- 
bled himself  and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of 
the  Cross  :  he  was  rich  yet  for  our  sakes  he  became  poor  :  upon 
all  this  chasm,  so  deep,  so  grim,  we  need  a  light  above  the  bright- 
ness of  the  sun.  When  that  light  comes,  the  root  out  of  a  dry- 
ground  will  be  as  the  flower  of  Jesse  and  the  plant  of  renown,  and 
the  face  marred  more  than  any  man's  will  be  fairest  among 
ten  thousand  and  altogether  lovely.  Such  is  the  wizardry  of 
light ! 

This  claim  to  be  glorified  by  the  Holy  Ghost  is  without  prece- 
dent in  human  history.  That  is  a  fact  which  ought  to  have  some 
value  attached  to  it.  It  is  the  kind  of  claim  which  could  be  tested 
promptly  and  thoroughly  by  the  consciousness  of  Christianised 
mankind,  and  presumptively,  on  that  very  account,  the  kind  of 
claim  which  an  impostor  would  have  avoided.  Besides,  for  such 
a  man,  or  for  any  man  indeed,  to  have  had  such  an  idea  is  most 
marvellous.  Had  he  merely  committed  his  case  to  the  care  of 
time  and  the  judgment  of  posterity,  he  would  have  taken  the  course 
of  ordinary  sagacity  ;  but  instead  of  the  general  appeal  which  is 
commonly  made  to  the  arbitrament  of  God  and  good  men,  he  ex- 
pressly stated  that  the  Holy  Ghost  would  glorify  his  person  and 
complete  his  mediation  on  the  earth.  The  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  to  be  infinitely  more  than  a  work  of  mere  explanation  : 
it  was  to  move  forward  to  the  very  point  of  glory,  even  the  glory 
which  the  Son  of  Man  had  with  his  Father  before  the  world 
began.  This  statement  came  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  Christ  Him- 
self, and  therefore  it  leaves  him  a  blasphemer  without  excuse  if  he 
was  merely  a  virtuous  and  courageous  teacher.  On  the  other 
hand,  taking  our  Lord's  word  as  true,  there  is  now  going  forward 
in  human  thinking  a  spiritual  process  which  is  identified  with  no 
other  name  than  his  own,  and  which  will  culminate  in  splendour 
ineffable  and  eternal.  The  prayer  of  our  Lord  to  be  "  glorified  " 
is  peculiarly  affecting  :  "  I  have  glorified  Thee  .  .  .  now,  O 
Father,  glorify  Thou  Me;" — "glorify  Thy  Son,"  as  if  the  full 
bitterness  of  his  humiliation  had  been  realised,  and  he  could  defer 
the  resumption  of  his  glory  no  longer.  He  distinctly  speaks  of  it 
as  a  resumption  and  not  as  an  unknown  experience: — "Glorify 
Me  with  Thine  own  self  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  Thee  be- 


324  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

fore  the  world  was."     A  fierce  hunger  seized  his  heart,  a  home- 
yearning  of  which  every  child  knows  something. 

Having  spoken  of  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  relation  to 
himself,  our  Lord  proceeds  to  speak  of  it  in  relation  to  his  disci- 
ples : — 

3.  "  He  will  guide  you  into  all  truth."  Not,  "  He  will  add  to 
the  number  of  miracles  which  you  have  seen  at  My  hands,"  but 
"  He  will  guide  you  into  all  truth  :"  "I  am  the  Truth  ;  He 
will  glorify  Me  ;  He  will  show  you  all  my  riches,"  Our  Lord 
himself  did  not  guide  his  disciples  into  all  truth,  nor  have  men 
even  yet  been  so  far  guided  ;  they  are  travelling  the  upward  road, 
but  the  summits  are  still  beyond.  Truth  is  an  infinite  quantity. 
At  first  it  may  seem  to  be  compassable,  but  it  recedes  as  it  is  ap- 
proached ;  yet  it  throws  the  warm  rays  of  promise  upon  every 
honest  and  loving  pilgrim  to  its  shrine.  The  highest  grace  of 
manhood  is  the  truth-loving  spirit  :  it  purifies  like  fire  ;  it  throws  a 
strange  and  holy  majesty  upon  life,  yet  makes  men  tender  and 
charitable.  Our  Lord's  expression  is  comprehensive, — "  into  all 
truth  ;"  not  only  into  truth  that  is  distinctively  theological,  but 
into  all  truth,  scientific,  political,  social,  religious.  Is  truth  not 
larger  than  the  formal  church  ?  Is  not  the  physicist  under  the 
tuition  of  the  Spirit  as  well  as  the  theologian  ?  Our  Lord  does  not 
divide  men  into  hostile  tribes  ;  he  does  not  open  one  department 
of  truth  and  refuse  the  key  of  others.  His  is  a  universal  speech, 
— he  speaks  of  "truth"  as  indivisible  and  complete,  and  of  the 
spirit  as  the  one  Guide.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  any  one  man 
is  to  be  guided  into  all  truth.  Some  possessions  are  put  into  the 
custody  of  the  whole  race.  Paul  did  not  claim  to  have  known 
truth  in  its  entirety  ;  nor  did  Peter  ;  nor  did  James.  No  single 
star  holds  all  the  light.  No  single  flower  is  endowed  with  all  the 
beauty.  What  man  is  there  who  knows  all  things  .'  It  is  prover- 
bial that  the  wisest  men  are  the  humblest,  and  that  those  who  have 
seen  the  fullest  disclosures  of  truth  are  assured  that  the  supreme 
glory  is  yet  concealed.  Has  not  every  honest  student  some  por. 
tion  of  truth  that  is  in  a  sense  his  own  .?  Does  not  every  eye  see 
at  least  a  tint  which  no  other  vision  has  seen  so  clearly  as  itself  ? 
It  is  important  to  consider  these  questionings  well,  because  they 
point  towards  tl\e  mutual  trust  and  the  mutual   honour  without 


GUIDING   INTO   TRUTH.  325 

which  society  would  be  disorganized  and  debased.  Men  make  up 
Man,  churches  make  up  the  Church,  truths  make  up  Truth,  and  it 
is  only  by  a  complete  combination  of  the  parts  that  the  majesty 
and  lustre  of  the  whole  can  be  secured. 

It  should  be  observed  that  in  this  connection  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
designated  by  our  Lord  as  "  the  Spirit  of  truth"  {to  Ilvev^a 
rrfS  aXrjdeia?),  and  as  such  he  is  to  "guide  into  all  truth" 
{Ttaffav  rrjv  aX?}dsiav)  those  who  are  under  his  tuition.  Ob- 
serve the  quantity — "  all  truth  :"  observe  the  method — "  He 
will  guide."  The  quantity  is  unlimited  ;  the  method  assumes 
consent  and  co-operation  on  the  part  of  man.  A  reference  to  Old 
Testament  history  will  throw  some  light  upon  the  scope  of  the 
Spirit's  ministry,  and  show  how  grave  is  the  error  which  limits  it 
to  thinking  and  service  which  are  supposed  to  be  purely  theologi- 
cal. It  may  indeed  (and  we  believe  it  will)  show  that  ' '  theology' ' 
is  actually  the  all-inclusive  term,  holding  within  its  meaning  all  the 
highest  aspects  and  suggestions  both  of  speculative  and  practical 
science.  The  theologian  is  entitled  to  claim  astronomy,  geology, 
botany,  agriculture,  and  chemistry,  as  sections  of  theology.  If 
he  trifle  with  this  claim  he  will  not  only  surrender  his  best  weapon 
as  a  controversialist,  but  mistake  brethren  and  friends  for  rivals 
and  enemies. 

Can  anything  be  farther  from  theology,  as  popularly  understood, 
than  stone-cutting  or  wood-carving  ?  Can  any  two  spheres  be 
much  more  widely  sundered  than  those  of  the  preacher  of  the  gos- 
pel and  the  artificer  in  iron  and  brass  ?  Apparently  not.  But  the 
biblical  testimony  sets  the  inquiry  at  rest  :  "I  have  called  Beza- 
leel,  and  I  have  filled  him  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  wisdom, 
and  in  understanding,  and  in  knowledge,  and  in  all  manner  of 
workmanship,  to  devise  cunning  works,  to  work  in  gold,  and  in 
silver,  and  in  brass,  and  in  cutting  of  stones,  to  set  them,  and  in 
carving  of  timber,  to  work  in  all  manner  of  workmanship"  (Exod. 
xxxi.  2-5).  Bezaleel  was  an  inspired  theologian.  More  than 
this,  and  apparently  still  farther  away  from  the  theological  line  : — 
"  I  have  created  the  smith  that  bloweth  the  coals  in  the  fire,  and 
that  bringeth  forth  an  instrument  4or  his  work."  Then,  inter- 
mediately at  least,  may  stand  the  agriculturist,  of  whose  treatment 
of  the  earth  is  said  : — "  This  also  cometh  forth  from  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  who    is  wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in  working." 


326  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

The  rulers  and  soldiers  of  Israel  were  qualified  for  their  work  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.  "The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon 
Othniel,  and  he  judged  Israel  and  went  out  to  war."  The  minis- 
tration of  the  Spirit  is  various  :  by  it  Moses  was  made  wise, 
Bezaleel  was  made  skilful,  and  Samson  was  made  strong.  "  All 
these  worketh  that  one  and  the  selfsame  Spirit,  dividing  to  every 
man  severally  as  he  will"  (i  Cor.  xii.  ii).  Wonderful  is  this  in- 
clusiveness  of  the  Spirit's  work.  "  Hie  Spiritus  Sanctus  omnium 
viventum  anima,  ita  largitate  sua  se  omnibus  abundanter  infundit, 
ut  habeant  omnia  rationabilia  et  irrationabilia  secundum  genus 
suum  ex  eo  quod  sunt  et  quod  in  suo  ordine  suae  naturae  compe- 
tentia  agut."  A  thorough  persuasion  of  this  inclusiveness  will 
put  an  end  to  the  needless  hostility  between  what  is  distinctively 
known  as  science  on  the  one  hand  and  theology  on  the  other.  All 
things  are  theological  primarily  and  ultimately,  though  certain  in- 
termediate points  in  their  processes  and  relationships  may  seem  to 
be  without  the  higher  light.  There  is  a  common  teacher — "  the 
Spirit  of  truth;"  there  is  a  common  end — "all  truth;"  there 
should  be  a  common  bond — mutual  trust. 

But  what  if  the  fact  of  the  Spirit's  ministry  be  denied  on  the  one 
hand  .-*  Denial  proves  nothing  against  the  case  as  it  is  now  put. 
God  works  even  where  he  is  unknown.  There  are  truths  which 
lie  below  our  very  consciousness.  Men  have  denied  not  only  the 
work  of  God,  but  the  very  existence  of  God,  yet  their  denial  has 
not  destroyed  the  divine  supremacy.  "  He  maketh  his  sun  to  rise 
on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on 
the  unjust." — and  this  not  only  in  a  material  but  in  a  spiritual 
sense  ;  he  has  servants  who  have  signed  no  covenant,  and  messen- 
gers who  do  his  errands  in  their  own  name.  Nor  does  he  blight 
them  for  their  ingratitude,  or  put  them  to  open  shame, — "  He  is 
kind  unto  the  unthankful  and  the  evil,"  and  not  willing  that  any 
should  perish.  The  worshippers  of  intellect  may  not  know 
that  they  are  worshippers  of  God  under  another  name.  Our 
spirit  may  be  not  equal  to  our  work  :  we  may  profane  the 
name  of  God  in  the  very  act  of  building  a  cathedral  for  his  praise. 
We  may,  then,  venture  to  speak  a  word  of  caution  to  the  men 
who  deny  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  doing  so  to  sug- 


ADVENTUROUS  MINDS.  327 

gest  whether  after  all  there  may  not  be  mysteries  in  their  life  which 
they  have  not  altogether  explored  and  comprehended.  They  will 
not  ruthlessly  resist  the  hand  that  would  bring  them  into  the  inner 
sanctuary  on  whose  outer  walls  they  have  wrought  so  much  exqui- 
site and  invaluable  decoration. 

Upon  the  church  itself  this  promise  of  guidance  into  all  truth 
should  exert  a  healthful  influence,  especially  in  the  direction  of 
enlarging  and  refining  its  charity.  The  danger  is  that  the  church 
should  be  content  with  a  limited  range  of  dogma  and  purpose 
when  it  is  invited  to  the  mastery  and  enjoyment  of  a  kingdom  that 
cannot  be  measured.  The  church  should  not  be  anxious  about 
uniformity  of  stature  and  countenance,  when  God  has  made  it  so 
evident  that  he  himself  delights  in  variety  and  contrast.  Men  of 
the  most  inquisitive  and  even  sceptical  mind  should  be  encouraged 
by  the  church  to  lead  the  van  of  inquiry,  and  subject  every  doc- 
trine and  every  spirit  to  a  cross-examination  which  to  minds  of  an 
opposite  type  may  become  wearisome  and  even  vexatious.  The 
church  should  extend  to  its  adventurous  sons  who  go  out  to 
shores  far  away  and  to  lands  unmapped  and  unclaimed,  the  most 
ardent  and  loving  recognition.  Even  when  they  return  with  hopes 
unfulfilled  and  with  banners  torn  by  angry  winds,  proving  the 
abortiveness  of  their  chivalry  or  the  mistake  of  their  method,  they 
should  be  hailed  with  a  still  tenderer  love.  The  pain  in  their  own 
hearts  is  keen  enough.  In  secrecy  they  have  known  the  very  bit- 
terness of  death.  To  such  men  the  promise  of  being  guided  into 
all  truth  becomes  a  personal  torture.  They  yearn  for  its  fulfil- 
ment :  they  are  straitened  until  it  be  accomplished.  Other  men 
can  wait,  but  their  waiting  is  a  grace  rather  than  a  virtue.  En- 
thusiasm is  unknown  by  them.  Temperamentally  they  know 
nothing  about  time  ;  and  there  is  no  future  to  them  because  they 
have  no  idea  of  the  suspense  and  occasional  anguish  of  expecta- 
tion. Such  men  are  sure  to  have  a  kind  of  advantage  over  those 
who  are  made  impatient  by  a  great  promise,  because,  having 
themselves  risked  nothing,  they  may  thoughtlessly  indulge  self- 
felicitation  at  the  expense  of  men  whose  shoe  latchets  they  are  not 
worthy  to  unloose.  Martyrdom  thus  comes  without  the  tragic  sur- 
roundings which  bring  with  them  their  own  alleviation  :  it  is  in- 
ward agony,  often  unconfessed,  but  terrible  as  the  pains  of  hell. 


328  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

Little  enough  is  known  about  such  martyrdoms,  and  perhaps  the 
less  the  better,  because  theirs  is  a  suffering  which  would  be  ag- 
gravated by  the  very  touch  of  unsympathetic  hands. 

4  .  "  He  will  show  you  Ihmgs  to  come. ' '  The  word  translated 
"  He  will  show"  is  avayyeXei,  he  will  announce  to  you  ;  the 
word  in  the  Vulgate  is  annunciahit.  Such  a  promise  would  seem  to 
imply  that  secret  communications  about  the  future  will  be  made 
to  the  church  ;  yet  this  construction  of  the  promise  must  be  ad- 
mitted with  extreme  caution,  if  admitted  at  all,  because  of  the 
dangerous  uses  to  which  it  may  be  put.  Men  would  in  some 
cases  mistake  prejudices  and  frenzies  for  inspiration,  and  in  others 
they  would  inflict  needless  trouble  upon  themselves  and  upon 
society  at  large.  Limited  to  the  immediate  hearers  of  our  Lord, 
of  course  the  promise  is  exhausted  and  the  results  are  to  some  ex- 
tent recorded  in  apostolic  history  ;  but  it  cannot  be  so  limited 
without  impairing  the  worth  of  the  promise  by  taking  it  away  from 
the  category  of  assurances  which  are  to  enrich  and  stimulate  the 
church  through  all  time.  Merely  to  "  show  things  to  come"  in 
the  sense  of  prevision  is  a  blessing  greater  in  appearance  than  in 
reality  ;  but  to  prepare  the  mind  for  things  to  come — to  show  the 
mind  how  to  deal  with  new  and  perplexing  circumstances — to  give 
the  perception  which  sees  God  everywhere  and  the  affection  which 
thankfully  accepts  his  discipline — is  an  advantage  which  cannot  be 
expressed  in  human  terms.  Whatever  the  promised  "  announce- 
ment" may  include,  it  must  involve  this  supernatural  preparedness 
of  mind  and  heart,  or  it  will  merely  excite  and  bewilder  the 
church. 

That  the  Holy  Spirit  did  "  show  things  to  come"  in  a  pro- 
phetic sense  is  proved  by  instances  circumstantially  reported  in  the 
New  Testament  :  for  example, — "  The  Holy  Ghost  witnesseth  in 
every  city,  saying  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me  ;"  "  Agabus 
took  Paul's  girdle  and  bound  his  own  hands  and  feet,  and  said, 
Thus  saith  the  Holy  Ghost,  So  shall  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem  bind 
the  man  that  owneth  this  girdle,  and  shall  deliver  him  into  the 
hands  of  the  Gentiles  ;"  "  Now  the  Spirit  speaketh  expressly,  that 
in  the  latter  times  some  shall  depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to 
seducing  spirits,  and  to  doctrines  of  devils."  In  one  case  this  is 
purely  personal  ;  in  the  other  it  is  almost  vague.     Seeing,  how- 


INSPIRATION  OF  MEMORY.  329 

ever,  that  the  Comforter  is  to  abide  with  the  church  "  for  ever," 
and  seeing  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  church  is  not  gifted  with 
prevision,  we  are  thrown  back  upon  the  gracious  and  all-sufficient 
assurance,  that  whatever  may  come,  and  with  what  violence  soever 
its  coming  may  be  attended,  the  church  will  be  prepared  to  with- 
stand every  shock  and  surmount  ever)'  difficulty.  Out  of  this  as- 
surance comes  rest ;  the  future  is  no  longer  a  trouble  ;  the 
clouds  that  lie  upon  the  remote  horizon  will  be  scattered  by  the 
brightness  of  the  image  of  God, 

We  have  thus  pointed  out  four  aspects  of  the  ministry  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  may  be  described  as  universal.  There  is  a 
fifth  aspect  which  belonged  to  the  disciples  alone,  which  is  yet  of 
supreme  consequence  to  ourselves  :  "  He  shall  bring  all  things  to 
your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you. ' '  There  is 
an  inspiration  of  memory.  Readers  of  the  gospels  must  have  been 
surprised  by  the  minuteness  of  recollection  which  is  shown  in  their 
pages.  Conversations  are  reported  ;  little  turns  of  dialogue  which 
seem  to  be  merely  artistic  are  not  omitted  ;  records  of  occasions  on 
which  the  disciples  were  actually  not.  present,  and  of  which  they 
could  only  have  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  Lord  himself,  are  pre- 
sented with  much  particularity  and  vividness  :  how,  then,  was  this 
done,  and  especially  done  by  men  who  certainly  were  not  con- 
spicuous for  the  kind  of  learning  which  is  needful  for  the  making 
of  literary  statements  }  The  explanation  of  this  artless  art,  and  this 
tenacious  memory,  is  in  the  promise  of  our  Lord — "  He  shall 
bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto 
you  :  you  shall  live  it  all  over  again  :  the  scene  of  which  I  have 
been  the  centre  shall  be  set  before  you  in  vivid  detail,  and  you 
shall  be  so  taught  how  to  gather  up  the  fragments  that  nothing  of 
all  its  minuteness  shall  be  lost." 


XXXVII. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  seeing  that  dark  clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about 
thee,  may  we  know  of  a  surety,  for  our  comfort  and  strengthening  in  all 
good  things,  that  righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  thy 
throne.  Be  thou  thyself  near  to  us,  so  that  our  weakness  may  itself 
become  a  source  of  strength,  and  so  that  every  stroke  of  thy  rod  may  be 
sanctified  to  the  well-being  of  our  souls.  We  would  regard  all  human  life 
as  a  revelation  of  God.  Work  in  us  that  quiet  and  saintly  patience  which 
humbly  waits  for  the  solution  of  all  mysteries  and  the  removal  of  high 
mountains  which  oppose  our  access  to  the  perfect  light  of  thy  presence. 
Be  thou  thyself  the  answer  to  every  temptation  that  assails  our  heart.  Be 
the  defence  of  our  peculiar  weaknesses,  and  when  sorrows  thicken  round 
us,  do  thou  give  new  interpretations  of  thy  love,  that  we  may  recover 
our  faith  and  praise  thee  with  a  louder,  sweeter  voice.  We  would  walk 
all  our  days  hand  in  hand  with  Jesus  Christ.  We  would  put  our  feet  in 
his  footprints.  We  would  keep  our  eyes  steadily  fixed  upon  his  cross. 
There  would  we  pray  for  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  the  sanctification  of  our 
nature,  and  the  perfect  redemption  of  our  whole  life  !  We  gather  round 
the  Cross  to-day.  We  are  bound  by  its  great  attraction  ;  and  we  take 
hope  that  our  sins  may  be  forgiven,  because  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanseth 
from  all  sin.  Put  within  us  thy  Holy  Spirit.  Direct  the  way  of  our  life 
from  time  to  time.  May  we  be  humble,  courageous,  hopeful,  childlike, 
patient  with  God  and  patiently  waiting  for  God,  lest  by  our  impetuosity 
we  interrupt  thy  providences  and  divert  the  stream  of  thy  love.  We  need 
no  other  guide  but  thee.  In  God  we  find  redemption,  justification,  holi- 
ness, and  all  the  blessings  of  a  glorious  destiny.  Keep  our  hearts  in  this 
faith,  then  shall  our  life  be  strong  and  pure.     Amen. 

THE  CONVICTIVE   WORK   OF   THE   HOLY 
GHOST. 

THERE  was  a  tone  of  sorrow  in  the  voice  of  our  Lord  when 
he  said  that  the  Spirit  of  truth  **  will  reprove  the  world  of 
sin  because  it  believeth  not  on  me."  Our  Lord  knew  that  viewed 
outwardly,  as  a  question  of  station  or  numbers,  his  personal  min- 
istry upon  the  earth  had  been  a  failure,  yet  it  was  to  be  proved  by 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  331 

another,  whom  he  himself  would  send,  that  the  failure  was  due  to 
the  very  sublimity  of  his  character.  A  character  like  his  was  not 
to  be  compassed  and  honoured  by  the  public  mind  in  three  short 
years.  With  less  grandeur  he  might  have  drawn  around  himself  a 
wider  homage  ;  or  with  a  grandeur  undegraded  by  Nazarene  asso- 
ciations he  might  have  carried  that  homage  to  the  very  point  of 
superstition,  and  so  have  wielded  an  influence  the  more  command- 
ing from  its  being  spectral  and  mysterious.  But  to  be  just  what 
he  was — divine  yet  human — the  supreme  anomaly  and  contradic- 
tion in  the  whole  range  of  history — proved  the  stumbling-block 
and  rock  of  offence  against  which  his  contemporaries  bruised  them- 
selves by  their  obstinacy  and  unbelief.  In  withdrawing  from  the 
world  he  sa-d  that  his  case  would  be  completed  by  the  ministry  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  who  would  so  operate  upon  the  moral  nature  of 
mankind  as  to  establish  a  perfect  righteousness  and  an  incorrupti- 
ble judgment,  and  in  so  doing  would  show  the  absolute  need  of 
himself  as  Mediator  and  Saviour.  This  would  seem  to  be  the 
purport  of  the  words  ' '  because  they  believe  not  on  Me. ' '  The 
world  has  never  cared  to  own  its  need  of  the  Son  of  man.  He  has 
always  been  a  stranger,  viewed  with  suspicion  and  listened  to  with 
reluctance.  He  came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own  received  him 
not ;  he  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  a  man  of  sorrows  and 
acquainted  with  grief,  and  we  hid  as  it  were  our  faces  from  him. 
The  world  has  never  known  exactly  what  to  do  with  this  stranger 
in  the  house  ;  it  has  approached  him,  and  recoiled  from  him  ;  it 
has  owned  him,  and  discarded  him,  in  a  breath  ;  it  has  hailed  him 
as  king,  and  crucified  him  with  thieves  ;  he  has  been  at  once  the 
spell  and  the  dread  of  all  who  have  known  him.  He  was  aware 
of  this,  and  said  in  effect  : — You  will  not  come  unto  me  ;  you 
are  determined  to  go  to  the  Father  through  some  other  way  ;  I 
cannot  remain  longer  in  the  body,  but  I  will  send  the  Spirit  of 
truth,  and  when  he  is  come  he  will  convince  you  of  sin  because  ye 
believe  not  on  me.  To  this  point  we  shall  come  again,  after  some 
analysis  and  reasoning. 

To  convince  the  world  of  sin  is  much  more  than  to  convince  the 
world  of  crime.  The  world  is  satisfied  with  rough  definitions,  and 
therefore  it  has  unhappily  used  the  words  "  crime"  and  "  sin"  as 
equivalent  and  interchangeable  terms.      In  the  higher  reasoning 


332  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

this  is  a  fatal  error.  There  may  be  sin  where  there  is  no  crime, 
but  wherever  there  is  crime  there  is  sin  to  account  for  it.  Society 
is  organized  to  defend  itself  against  crime,  yet  every  member  of  it  is 
guilty  of  sin.  This  has  to  be  made  clear  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
has  already  in  a  measure  been  made  clear  to  every  one  of  us. 
Thus  :  Society  condemns  murder  ;  so  in  his  reasoning  with  us  the 
Holy  Ghost  begins  with  this  admission,  and  proceeds  to  say — You 
condemn  murder,  but  this  is  merely  a  gross  and  vulgar  morality, 
little  better,  indeed,  than  selfishness  stimulated  by  fear  ;  you  must 
find  out  how  murder  begins, — it  begins  in  unholy  anger;  that 
anger  may  never  have  spoken  one  word  or  shown  one  sign  of  im- 
patience, yet  by  so  much  as  you  have  given  way  to  it  in  the  secrecy 
of  your  inmost  heart  you  are  guilty  of  murder  in  the  sight  of  God  ! 
It  required  a  Ghost  to  teach  us  that.  We  had  no  moral  instru- 
ment of  our  own  fine  enough  and  keen  enough  to  make  so  delicate 
a  distinction  ;  we  could  only  get  so  far  as  to  make  some  difference 
between  murder  and  manslaughter,  or  between  murder  with  ex- 
tenuating, circumstances  and  murder  without  them.  There  society 
paused,  being  unable  to  go  further  ;  and  precisely  there  the  Spirit 
began  his  work,  taking  the  crime  to  pieces,  tracing  it  back  to  its 
origin,  and  finding  that  origin  in  a  secret  and  perhaps  long-hidden 
excitement  of  the  heart ;  and  having  found  it,  the  Spirit  said — 
This  is  the  murder  ;  the  outward  deed  was  a  social  outrage,  an 
odious  and  revolting  vulgarity  ;  this  movement  of  hatred  in  the 
heart,  this  unbridled  passion,  is  the  murder.  "  Whosoever  hateth 
his  brother  is  a  murderer."  Thus  we  are  brought  to  subtler 
definitions  than  have  hitherto  satisfied  our  rude  morality,  and 
the  measure  of  our  assent  is  the  measure  of  our  self-conviction. 
Those  of  us  who  have  walked  up  and  down  in  society  as  blame- 
less men  suddenly  find  ourselves  in  the  presence  of  a  new  law  of 
judgment,  and  are  compelled  to  own  that  if  murder  is  traceable 
into  the  region  of  motive,  feeling,  latent  or  unconfessed  abhor- 
rence of  a  man,  it  is  more  than  possible  that  we  ourselves  may  be 
murderers  in  the  sight  of  God.  To  accept  such  a  doctrine  is  to 
invest  life  with  a  most  solemn  and  tragic  grandeur,  and  is  to  do 
something  further,  which  will  appear  as  the  analysis  proceeds. 

Society  has  made  murder  penal,  but  it  has  not  been  able  to  set 
falsehood  amongst  the  crimes  which  are  to  be  punished  by  the 
magistrate.      By  society  itself  falsehood  is  treated  more  spiritually 


THE  SUBTLETY  OF  FALSEHOOD. 


than  murder  ;  so  we  come  into  a  higher  region  of  the  operation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  ourselves  make  further  admissions  in  this 
case  than  we  were  prepared  to  make  in  the  other.  We  own,  for 
example,  that  a  man  may  act  a  lie  as  well  as  tell  one  :  that  he  may 
use  words  with  two  meanings  :  that  he  may  guard  himself  and 
mislead  others  by  mental  reservations.  These  are  great  admissions, 
for  more  spiritual,  it  will  be  observed,  than  were  made  in  the  case 
of  murder.  What  more  can  the  Holy  Ghost  himself  do  ?  It  is 
not  indeed  needful  that  more  be  done  if  the  object  be  merely  to 
secure  self-conviction.  Yet  more  is  possible.  The  Holy  Ghost 
says  that  a  form  of  words  may  be  true,  and  yet  it  may  express  a 
lie  !  A  conversation  may  be  reported  verbatim  et  literatim,  yet,  by 
a  mere  change  of  tone,  by  the  omission  of  a  facial  expression,  by 
a  skilful  variation  of  pause  or  emphasis,  the  report  may  be  a  false- 
hood from  beginning  to  end.  Farther  and  deeper  still  a  man 
may  be  false  to  himself.  He  may  actually  have  treated  himself  so 
dishonestly  as  to  have  suspended  or  destroyed  the  very  power  by 
which  he  knows  right  from  wrong.  His  conscience  is  "  seared  as 
with  a  hot  iron,"  and  human  speech  has  lost  all  value  and  use  as 
a  moral  medium.  Some  men  are  spoken  of  as  "  given  over  to 
believe  a  lie;"  that  is  to  say,  the  natural  conscience  itself,  the 
primary  element  of  responsible  life,  is  dispossessed  of  its  proper 
function,  and  belief  has  become  an  instrument  of  self-delusion. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  man  is  something  more  than  a  liar, 
he  himself  is  actually  a  lie  I  When  a  man  is  guilty  of  lying  there 
may  be  some  hope  of  his  restoration  because  of  certain  counter- 
balancing virtues  on  other  sides  of  his  character  ;  but  when  the 
man  himself  \?,  a  living  lie,  the  whole  nature  is  in  so  false  a  condi- 
tion as  to  leave  no  hope  of  penitence  and  recover}'.  Under  such 
difTiculties  who  but  the  Spirit  of  God  can  undertake  the  work  of 
convincing  the  heart  of  sin  .?  There  must  be  a  process  in  a  heart 
so  lost,  which  can  only  be  typified  by  the  most  terrible  displays  of 
power  which  take  place  in  the  material  world, — eruption,  and 
earthquake,  and  lightnings  like  the  glance  of  God. 

But  the  process  becomes  still  more  spiritual.  INIurder  and  false- 
hood are  at  all  events  nominally  condemned  by  every  man  who 
has  any  sense  of  social  decency  ;  but  what  of  virtues  which  are 
praised  as  the  very  security  and  crown  of  human  society  ?  The 
Spirit  of  God  sccth  not  as  man  seeth  ;  for  man  looketh  on  the  out- 


334  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

ward  appearance,  but  the  Lord  looketh  on  the  heart.  The  form 
of  godliness  is  to  be  distinguished  from  its  power.  An  illustration 
taken  from  every-day  life  will  help  us  to  see  the  meaning  of  this. 
Take  an  act  of  almsgiving,  and  let  it  be  outwardly  the  choicest 
specimen  of  its  class  :  the  gift  is  large,  most  timely  in  its  presenta- 
tion, and  most  deservedly  bestowed  ;  many  a  heart  was  made  glad 
by  the  donation,  and  many  an  anxiety  was  set  at  rest ;  the  gift 
was  given  with  such  cordiality  too  :  the  tone  of  the  giver  was 
cheerful,  and  gladdening  to  all  who  heard  it  ;  altogether  the  char- 
ity was  marked  by  every  desirable  beauty.  Beyond  this  point 
society  does  not  carry  its  judgment, — man  looketh  on  the  outward 
appearance.  Where  man  ends,  the  all-searching  Spirit  begins  : 
he  holds  the  candle  of  the  Lord  over  the  secret  places  of  the  heart ; 
he  tries  the  motives  of  the  soul  by  the  fires  of  the  supreme  judg- 
ment ;  and  having  done  so,  he  says  in  effect  to  the  applauded 
man, — "  Your  love  went  not  with  your  gift ;  had  you  been  left 
wholly  to  the  motion  of  your  own  will  you  never  would  have  given 
it ;  it  was  an  oblation  to  your  own  vanity  ;  it  was  a  bribe  by  which 
you  bought  reputation  and  good  standing  amongst  men  ;  it  was 
not  given  to  the  poor,  it  was  given  \.o yourself."  This  conviction 
may  be  made  so  clear  to  a  man,  and  brought  to  bear  upon  him 
with  such  urgency,  as  to  cause  him  the  most  painful  suffering  at 
the  very  time  when  human  applause  is  most  general  and  vehement. 
Here,  then,  is  the  point  of  departure  from  such  cases  as  murder 
and  falsehood,  the  point  of  excellent  appearance  where  the  inform- 
ing spirit  is  vicious  and  detestable. 

We  are  now  upon  the  line  every  point  of  which  adds  to  our 
knowledge  of  spiritual  realides  as  distinguished  from  formal  facts. 
How  near,  for  example,  are  we  to  the  point  which  shows  that 
prayer  itself  may  be  a  lie  !  We  turned  from  murder  with  disgust, 
and  from  falsehood  with  a  sense  of  shame,  but  what  of  the  prayers 
so  much  approved  for  every  charm  of  expression  and  tone  .?  May 
our  religion  be  the  chief  of  our  immoralities  ?  You  prayed  in  the 
house  of  your  friend,  and  made  your  prayer  the  medium  of  per- 
sonal compliment  to  his  supposed  excellences  and  deserts  ;  you 
praised  the  creature  to  the  Creator,  making  mention  of  his  virtues, 
but  not  daring  to  hint  at  his  sins  ;  with  many  a  complimentary 
reference  you  lingered  upon  the  case  of  the  master,  but  you  dis- 
missed  the  servants  in  one  hurried  and  shallow  sentence  :  would 


THE  INNERMOST  HEART.  335 

you  have  so  prayed  for  the  man  if  he  had  not  been  listening  to 
you  ?  Answer  that  question  distinctly.  Would  you  have  called 
him  God's  "  dear  servant"  if  he  had  been  a  mile  away  ?  Would 
you  have  prayed  at  all  if  you  could  decorously  have  escaped  the 
duty  ?  Not  only  does  the  Holy  Ghost  ask  these  questions,  he 
compels  you  to  answer  them  to  your  shame,  nor  does  he  cease  his 
piercing  and  destructive  ministry  until  you  own  that  you  have 
turned  your  religion  into  a  crime  and  uttered  blasphemy  at  the 
very  gate  of  heaven.  So,  the  period  of  mere  definition  is  passed, 
and  the  time  of  direct  and  irresistible  application  has  come. 

More  :  even  if  we  are  unassailable  at  any  of  the  great  points  now 
indicated — crime,  falsehood,  selfishness,  impious  prayer — yet  there 
is  another  kingdom  wherein  the  divine  judgment  is  set  up,  the 
kingdom  of  unuttered  desire  and  thought.  Every  man  has  two 
lives — the  life  of  motive,  and  the  life  of  behaviour,  into  the  first  of 
which  none  can  enter  but  the  Spirit  of  spirits.  "  He  knoweth  our 
thought  afar  off  ;"  before  it  is  a  complete  thought,  when  it  is  too 
dim  an  outline  to  have  any  relation  to  the  uses  of  human  speech, 
and  before  it  leaves  the  shadows  of  its  inception,  he  declares  its 
quality  and  metes  to  it  the  judgment  of  righteousness.  So  solemn 
is  life,  so  perilous,  so  painful  !  Through  your  heart  there  shot  a 
desire  which  scorched  you,  though  no  human  eye  will  ever  see  the 
blister  which  it  left,  and  the  very  memory  of  that  desire  will  make 
you  dumb  whilst  others  sing  ;  it  will  sting  you,  humble  you,  and 
make  a  coward  of  you  all  your  days.  Into  your  mind  there  came 
what  was  only  the  hint  of  a  thought,  yet  it  struck  you  like  a  thunder- 
bolt, so  evil  did  it  seem  to  be  even  in  its  incompleteness  !  These 
are  the  visitations  which,  when  rightly  understood,  show  a  man 
that  there  is  something  worse  than  crime,  and  make  him  impa- 
tient with  the  deceitful  comforters  who  would  "  heal  his  hurt 
slightly." 

Thus  we  come  back  to  the  point  with  which  we  started,  viz., 
"  The  Spirit  of  truth  will  convince  the  world  of  sin, — of  sin 
because  they  believe  not  on  me."  The  Holy  Ghost  will  so  viv- 
idly and  thoroughly  show  the  nature  of  sin,  that  those  who 
thought  themselves  the  best  examples  of  human  society  will  be 
afflicted  with  the  keenest  compunction  because  of  what  they  know 
themselves  to  be  in  the  presence  of  God.  It  will  no  longer  be  a 
question    of  comparison  as  between  one  class  and  another,    or 


336  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

between  one  man  and  another  ;  the  judgment  will  lie  wholly 
between  man  and  God,  and  every  heart  will  see  itself  as  if  it  were 
the  only  heart  in  all  the  universe.  This  personal  consciousness  is 
to  be  so  vivid  and  intense  as  to  become  painful  ;  a  man  will  see 
himself  as  he  never  saw  himself  before,  and  feel  the  burden  of  life 
with  a  new  and  intolerable  oppression.  His  moral  sense  will  be 
so  purified  and  perfected  that  he  will  feel  even  an  evil  thought  to 
be  an  unpardonable  sin  ;  and  so  humbled  will  he  be  by  finding 
that  even  his  best  deeds  are  tainted,  and  that  his  very  prayers  are 
but  a  refinement  of  impiety,  that  all  strength  will  go  out  of  him 
and  all  self-hope  will  expire.  Can  he  in  that  moment  of  despair 
turn  to  others  for  help  ?  No  ;  because  they  are  in  the  agonies  of 
the  same  experience,  groaning  because  of  a  common  paralysis  and 
helplessness.  The  hour  is  too  solemn  to  admit  of  trifling  by  com- 
paring one  degree  of  sin  with  another  ;  there  is  no  question  of 
degrees  ;  whatever  difference  there  may  be  in  the  mere  accidents  of 
crime,  under  all  surfaces  there  is  the  terrible  fact  that  every  heart 
has  broken  away  from  the  rule  of  the  Divine  King.  What  then  ? 
When  the  conviction  is  so  keen  and  relentless,  when  every  con- 
cealing shadow  is  chased  from  the  inmost  life  by  the  fierce  light  of 
infinite  purity,  the  heart  will  begin  to  know  that  in  turning  away 
from  Jesus  Christ,  that  strange  and  tormenting  middle  quantity  by 
which  it  was  so  fretted  in  the  days  of  its  own  haughtiness  and  self- 
sufficiency,  it  turned  from  the  Son  of  God,  the  only  mediator  of 
the  covenant  of  peace,  and  then  the  agony  will  be  like  the  very 
pains  of  hell.  This  is  the  convction  of  sin  which  the  Spirit  of 
God  is  to  work  in  hearts  which  have  not  believed  in  the  Saviour 
of  the  world.  Jesus  Christ  cannot  be  understood  until  sin  is  un- 
derstood. So  long  as  sin  is  regarded  from  a  merely  social  point 
of  view,  the  cross  of  Christ  must  appear  to  be  an  exaggeration, — 
justice  assuming  a  sensational  attitude.  Why  do  with  blood  a 
work  which  could  be  done  as  well  with  water  ?  Why  sacrifice  a 
man  when  the  blood  of  a  beast  would  answer  every  purpose  ? 
These  inquiries  are  legitimate  so  long  as  sin  is  underrated  or  misun- 
derstood, but  the  moment  that  sin  is  seen  under  the  illumination 
of  infinite  holiness,  the  cross  of  Christ  alone  is  equal  to  the  tragic 
awe  and  appalling  horror  of  the  situation.  The  first  clear  view 
which  any  man  gets  of  the  sinfulness  of  sin  marks  the  crisis  of  his 
life.     From  that  time  he  elects  his  destiny.      It  is  questionable 


THE  MORAL   BASIS.  337 

whether  there  can  be  any  repetition  of  that  view,  so  intense,  so 
intolerable  is  the  light.  Jesus  Christ,  then,  would  seem  to  say  in 
the  words  now  under  discussion,  something  to  this  effect  : — 
' '  You  do  not  understand  me  now  ;  you  think  you  can  do  without 
a  meditator  between  yourselves  and  God  ;  so  little  do  you  know 
of  sin  as  God  knows  it,  that  you  suppose  yourselves  equal  to  every 
occasion  which  can  arise  in  working  out  all  the  dispensations  of 
divine  righteousness  ;  so  must  it  be  for  a  little  while,  but  not  for 
ever  ;  when  -the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come  he  will  give  you  such  views 
of  the  sinfulness  of  sin,  and  show  you  so  clearly  the  true  condition 
of  your  own  hearts,  that  under  his  ministry  you  will  cry  out  for 
mediation  and  remember  in  the  anguish  of  your  pain  that  you 
would  not  come  unto  me  that  you  might  have  life." 

In  the  light  of  this  exposition  we  may  see  the  way  clear  to  some 
practical  conclusions. 

I.  All  attempts  to  establish  a  satisfactory  life  on  the  basis  of 
what  is  commonly  known  as  morality,  must  be  given  up.  Moral- 
ity has  become  one  of  the  fine  arts.  It  is  an  attitude,  a  fine 
balancing  of  calculations,  a  tacit  understanding  with  evil  powers, 
at  best  but  an  armed  neutrality.  The  surface  of  society  is  not  ill- 
conditioned  ;  its  politeness  was  never  so  polished  ;  its  laws  of  giv- 
ing and  taking  were  never  so  admirably  codified.  This  social 
behaviour  is  only  the  fit  expression  of  individual  virtues  which 
conspicuously  abound,  and  which  are  properly  used  as  bonds  of 
intercourse  in  carrying  on  the  business  of  daily  life.  But  what  if 
morality  be  only  an  art, — the  most  cunning  and  profitable  of 
tricks.?  What  if  the  partitions  which  we  call  our  "rights"  be 
saved  from  destruction  merely  because  it  pays  better  to  repress  the 
fire  of  passion  than  to  give  it  free  course  ?  This  is  not  said  cyni- 
cally, but  rather  with  bitterness  of  sorrow.  The  Holy  Ghost 
teaches  us  that  we  cannot  be  right  with  one  another  until  we  are 
right  with  God.  He  says  we  must  be  religious  before  we  can  be 
profoundly  and  truly  moral.  By  being  religious  the  Holy  Ghost 
means  that  the  human  will  must  be  under  the  control  of  the  will 
of  God  ;  and  it  is  precisely  at  this  point  that  a  great  controversy 
arises  between  the  human  and  divine.  By  so  much  as  a  man  sub- 
tracts anything  from  the  sovereignty  of  God's  control,  and  trans- 
fers it  to  himself,  he  assumes  that  it  is  possible  to  create  a  satisfac- 
tory morality  without  divine  help.     The  Holy  Ghost  says,  "  No  ; 


338  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

you  must  be  lorn  again — you  must  come  into  thorough  newness 
of  life,  and  not  into  a  mere  readjustment  of  habits  and  behaviour 
— you  must  die  unto  yourself,  that  you  may  live  unto  God." 
His  work  is  thus  fundamental.  He  will  not  attempt  to  do  any- 
thing that  is  merely  on  the  outside  ;  he  says  that  the  very  nature 
of  man  must  be  born  again,  and  that  until  regeneration  takes 
place,  so-called  "  morality"  is  but  a  well-contrived  device  of  self- 
ishness. This  is  clearly  a  magnificent  basis  of  life,  supplying  as 
it  does  eternal  guarantees  of  purity  and  nobleness.  In  the  absence 
of  such  a  basis  there  can  be  no  dependence  upon  the  loudest  pro- 
fessions of  confidence  and  friendship  ;  they  must  be  taken  for  what 
they  are  worth,  as  very  pleasant  to  the  outward  ear,  but  as  liable 
to  be  blown  away  by  the  first  cross  wind  which  assails  our  popu- 
larity. On  the  other  hand,  where  the  heart  has  been  born  again, 
and  as  a  consequence  draws  all  the  considerations  which  govern  it 
immediately  from  the  will  of  God,  there  must  be  incorruptible 
truth  and  invincible  constancy.  If  we  plead  that  when  thrown 
entirely  on  our  own  resources  we  can  develop  a  very  beautiful 
life,  the  Holy  Ghost  says,  "  No  ;  your  results  are  artificial ;  they 
express  study  and  contrivance  on  your  part  ;  they  are  rather  a 
group  of  negations  which  attest  a  more  or  less  severe  discipline, 
they  are  not  the  natural  outcome  of  a  moral  condition  which  can- 
not be  changed  by  outward  circumstances  ;  you  make  clean  the 
outside  of  the  cup  and  platter,  but  the  inside  is  full  of  rottenness 
and  death,"  So  the  very  morality  which  we  boast  may  be,  as 
already  said,  the  last  aggravation  of  our  wickedness.  Recollect 
how  severe  Jesus  Christ  was  with  the  "  righteous"  men  of  his  day  ; 
he  never  spared  them  ;  he  never  had  one  approving  word  for 
them  ;  when  they  gathered  up  their  ceremonial  skirts  and  ran  away 
from  the  path  of  the  "  sinner,"  he  damned  them  with  infinite  con- 
demnation as  hypocrites,  dcvourers,  and  whited  sepulchres.  This 
ministry  of  his  is  continued  by  the  Holy  Ghost, — "  He  shall  take 
of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto  you," — and  the  ministry  thus 
continued  cannot  cease  until  man  throws  down  his  artificial  moral- 
ity as  a  burden  and  a  lie. 

2.  All  hopes  founded  upon  what  are  thought  to  be  different  de- 
grees of  sin  must  be  abandoned.  There  are,  of  course,  different 
degrees  of  crimc,^  but  the  question  does  not  turn  upon  crime  at  all. 


DEGREES  OF  SIN.  339 


The  murderer  is  undoubtedly  a  greater  criminal  than  the  pilferer  ; 
but  the  murderer  is  something  more  than  a  murderer,  and  the  pil- 
ferer than  a  pilferer.  The  murder  and  the  theft  are  accidental 
forms,  nothing  more.  For  all  the  purposes  of  criminal  law  it  may 
be  sufficient  to  classify  men  according  to  the  mere  accidents  of 
their  mischievous  behaviour,  so  that  punishment  may  be  assigned 
with  some  degree  of  proportion  to  the  shock  which  public  feeling 
has  sustained  ;  but  another  standard  must  be  set  up  when  the 
offence  is  between  man  and  God,  "  Would  you  send  a  murderer 
and  a  speculative  sceptic  to  the  same  hell?"  it  may  be  asked. 
But  stop  !  It  is  not  the  murderer,  accidentally  as  such,  that  is 
sent  to  hell,  nor  the  speculative  sceptic,  accidentally  as  such,  that 
is  shut  out  of  heaven.  The  question  is  one  of  death,  not  of  dis- 
ease ;  of  the  heart,  not  of  the  hand.  According  to  the  teaching  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  it  may  be  (even  considering  the  question  as  one 
of  degrees)  that  the  heart  through  which  has  passed  an  unholy  de- 
sire may  be  m  a  worse  condition  than  the  heart  whose  momentary 
passion  has  vented  itself  in  murderous  vengeance.  There  is  an 
iniquity  which  is  rolled  under  the  tongue  as  a  sweet  morsel,  a 
secret  enjoyment  of  sin  ;  and  there  are  also  moments  in  which  is 
revealed  to  the  soul  a  horrible  possibility  of  sin  where  such  possi- 
bility was  least  suspected,  a  revelation  known  only  to  the  soul 
because  too  dreadful  to  be  put  into  words  and  communicated  to  a 
stranger.  The  first  time,  in  our  sunny  youth,  we  realised  this 
awful  possibility,  can  it  ever  be  forgotten  ?  It  was  only  a  shadow 
that  swept  over  the  heart,  not  a  thing  for  words  at  all,  yet  the  very 
memory  of  it  chills  us  like  the  touch  of  death.  Or  it  was  a  demand 
of  the  heart  made  at  a  time  of  festivity,  it  came  upon  us  without 
warning,  it  made  the  heart  bound  as  if  it  had  been  secretly  touched 
with  fire, — in  that  moment  we  saw  that  our  life  is  being  daily 
spent  on  the  edge  of  an  abyss.  Left  to  ourselves  as  a  community 
of  men,  we  can  set  up  comparisons  and  contrasts,  and  actually 
shudder  at  enormities  which  secure  for  themselves  a  bad  emi- 
nence ;  but  introduced  into  the  presence  of  God,  and  searched  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  we  feel  that  a  look  may  be  blasphemy  and  that 
unkindness  may  be  cruel  as  murder.  The  thing  to  be  understood 
is  that  sin  is  spiritual,  and  that  it  is  to  be  judged  spiritually,  with- 
out reference  to  the  vulgarity  or  noise  which  may  make  it  socially 
noticeable. 


340  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

3.  Under  such  realisation  of  sin  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
seen  in  its  true  light.  On  this  point  some  remarks  have  just  been 
offered,  but  we  may  recur  to  it  as  the  chief  point  in  the  discus- 
sion. Here  it  is  emphatically  true  that  "  they  that  be  whole  need 
not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick."  The  analogy  will  help 
us  to  higher  truths.  A  man  who  has  never  known  the  agony  of 
pain  or  the  prostration  of  weakness  may  feel  himself  at  liberty  to 
treat  very  lightly  the  claims  of  men  who  follow  the  profession  of 
medicine.  From  his  own  point  of  view  he  may  feel  himself  en- 
titled to  sneer  at  such  men,  and  may  plead  his  personal  robustness 
as  an  argument  against  their  pretensions.  He  may,  if  of  a  narrow 
and  obstinate  nature,  even  go  so  far  as  to  contend  that  other  peo- 
ple might  all  be  strong  as  he  is,  and  consequently  to  withdraw  his 
sympathy  from  them.  But  let  that  boastful  and  austere  man 
awake  to  the  fact  that  in  his  own  body  there  is  a  slowly  developing 
disease,  painless  in  its  early  stages,  but  surely  advancing  upon  his 
very  life  ;  let  him  come  to  the  conviction  that  at  any  moment  his 
pulse  may  cease,  and  instantly  his  attitude  towards  the  medical 
profession  may  be  totally  changed.  A  new  conviction  has  given 
him  a  new  feeling  and  compelled  him  towards  a  new  policy.  Ask 
him  the  reason  of  the  change,  so  complete  and  striking,  which  he 
has  undergone,  and  at  once  he  will  justify  himself  by  his  new 
consciousness.  Jesus  Christ  makes  use  of  this  very  experience  to 
throw  light  upon  his  own  ministry  :  "I  am  not  come  to  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance  ;"  "  They  that  be  whole  need 
not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick."  Ever}'thing,  therefore, 
is  made  to  depend  upon  conviction.  Where  there  is  no  conviction 
there  will  be  no  pressure  of  necessity.  Where  there  is  no  thirst, 
who  cares  for  the  fountain  .?  but  in  the  desert,  under  an  intoler- 
able sun,  who  can  calculate  the  value  of  a  cup  of  cold  water .'' 
Jesus  Christ  awaits  the  demands  of  spiritual  necessity.  He  knows 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  will  so  torment  the  heart  with  a  sense  of  sin 
as  to  compel  the  sufferer  to  pray  for  mercy,  and  at  that  point  of 
anguish  he  will  show  himself  to  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  Jesus 
Christ  cannot  work  in  the  absence  of  conviction.  When  the  physi- 
cian lays  his  finger  upon  the  strong  man's  pulse,  the  strong  man 
smilingly  anticipates  an  exclamation  of  surprise  and  congratula- 
tion ;  but  when  the  pulse  of  the  dying  man  is  felt,  it  is  amidst  the 
silence  of  anxiety,  and  fear.     Tell  the  Pharisee  that  Jesus  Christ  died 


SPIRITUAL   ANALYSIS.  341 

for  him,  and  the  man  is  shocked  ;  but  tell  the  sinner  who  knows 
the  torment  of  remorse  that  the  Son  of  God  died  to  save  him,  and 
the  statement  becomes  "  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God." 
Through  his  remorse  he  sees  what  he  never  could  have  seen 
through  his  philosophy.  For  years  he  may  have  vainly  studied 
the  Cross  as  a  controversialist,  in  a  moment  he  saw  all  its  meaning 
when  his  heart  was  broken  because  of  his  sin.  In  the  light  of 
these  reflections  we  may  see  how  far  removed  from  the  region  of 
mere  controversy  is  such  a  doctrine  as  the  atonement.  It  does 
not  express  a  controversial  result,  so  how  can  it  be  reached  by 
controversial  means  .-'  It  came  out  of  feeling — that  is,  out  of  the 
tender  pity  and  love  of  God — and  cannot  therefore  be  understood 
but  by  the  aid  of  feeling.  The  logician  is  out  of  his  beat  here. 
The  broken  heart  will  see  farther  than  the  keenest  intellect.  It  is 
only  for  a  moment  now  and  then  that  any  man  really  and  truly 
sees  himself,  and  such  moments  are  times,  not  of  equable  and 
serene  complacency,  but  of  intense  excitement  and  passion, — times 
of  madness  which  the  world  cannot  understand  :  how,  then,  can 
a  being  who  can  s^o.  himself  ovAy  now  and  then,  see  Gc*/ always, 
and  explain  in  easy  words  the  sorrow  and  the  grace  of  the  Eter- 
nal .?  No  man  could  bear  the  strain  of  continual  conviction  of 
sin.  It  kills  him,  that  he  may  be  made  alive  again  by  the  Spirit, 
and  ever  afterwards  he  speaks  of  it  as  a  memory  rather  than  as  a 
current  experience.  The  agony  upon  the  cross  was  soon  past, 
and  it  could  come  again  no  more.  It  is  so  with  this  conviclion 
which  reveals  the  cross  :  however  long  the  preparation,  it  is  but 
momentary  in  the  final  pain,  yet  long  enough  to  show  sin,  God, 
and  salvation.  This  being  so,  the  atonement  cannot  be  dealt  with 
in  coolness  and  patience,  like  a  problem  which  appeals  but  to  one 
set  of  faculties  ;  it  must  be  seen  at  once,  through  the  agony  of 
broken-heartedness,  or  it  can  never  be  seen  at  all.  Though  soon 
seen  it  is  never  forgotten.  It  rules  the  life  evermore.  Fruits  of 
the  Spirit  will  attest  by  noble  confirmation  the  reality  of  the 
Spirit's  ministry.  The  anguish  of  the  birth  is  forgotten  so  soon  as 
the  man  is  born,  but  the  man  has  to  live  under  discipline  and  to 
be  the  willing  and  grateful  scholar  of  the  Spirit  to  whom  he  owes 

HIMSELF. 

The  conviction  of  sin  is  to  be  accompanied  by  the  conviction  of 
righteousness  and  the  conviction   of  judgment, — accompanied  by, 


342  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

rather  than  follcnved,  for  these  great  spiritual  quickenings  and 
movements  would  often  seem  to  involve  many  simultaneous  ex- 
periences which  are  only  in  appearance  separated  by  intervals  of 
time.  It  may  be  taken  that  the  convictive  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  one  great  act,  describable,  however,  by  a  threefold  effect,  and 
that  such  work  is  initiated  at  once  in  all  its  complexity.  Commen- 
tators have  not  found  it  easy  to  give  a  clear  and  satisfactory  ren- 
dering of  our  Lord's  words  upon  this  subject,  nor  are  we  bold 
enough  to  hope  that  we  can  simplify  what  they  have  found  it  so 
difficult  to  explain.  The  meaning  of  the  words  would  seem  to  be 
substantially  this  :  The  world  has  its  own  notion  of  wrong-doing  ; 
the  world  has  its  own  notion  of  propriety,  or  justice  as  between 
man  and  man  ;  the  world  has  its  own  notion  of  moral  differences* 
of  right  and  wrong,  of  good  and  bad,  — but  when  the  Spirit  is 
come,  he  will  seize  upon  all  these  notions,  and  with  convincing 
refutation  will  show  them  to  be  only  names,  to  be  superficial,  shal- 
low, altogether  inadequate,  fallacious,  and  misleading  ;  having 
done  this  negative  work,  he  will  proceed  to  his  affirmative  mission, 
and  in  doing  so  he  will  replace  the  word  "  wrong-doing"  with  the 
word  sin,  the  word  "  propriety"  with  the  word  righleousness,  and 
the  word  "  differences"  with  the  vfordi  Judgment ;  he  will  show  the 
spiritual  essence  and  reality,  of  which  the  world  has  but  a  dim  and 
imperfect  notion  ;  he  will  throw  the  world  into  discontentment 
with  all  its  own  moral  theories,  and  bring  it  to  see  that  it  has  been 
mistaking  appearances  for  realities  ;  thus,  negatively  and  posi- 
tively, the  Spirit  will  carry  out  a  profound  and  vital  work  of  spirit- 
ual conviction.  But  the  point  which  is  to  be  specially  observed  is 
that  the  convictive  mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  entirely  identified 
zvitk  the  name  and  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  conviction,  re- 
garded simply  as  the  result  of  spiritual  argument,  might  have 
been  accomplished  in  the  very  first  ages  of  human  history  ;  it 
must,  therefore,  be  something  more  than  an  intellectual  convic- 
tion, and  for  its  accomplishment  it  must  have  required  every  aid 
that  is  implied  in  the  gift  of  the  Son  of  God  as  the  minister  of  sal- 
vation. Mark  the  statement  and  the  reason  :  The  Comforter  will 
convince  the  world  of  sin — because  they  believe  not  on  Me  ;  the  Com- 
forter will  convince  the  world  of  righteousness — because  I  go  to  the 
Father ;  the  Comforter  will  convince  the  world  of  judgment — 
because  the  prince  of  this  world  is  judged  (is  cast  out),  for  for  this 


UNIVERSAL   CONVICTION.  343 

purpose  was  I  manifested  that  I  might  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil.  In  the  light  of  this  connection  the  whole  passage  may  be 
treated  in  free  paraphrase  thus  :  When  the  Comforter  is  come  he 
will  convincingly  refute  the  world's  theory  of  wrong- doing  by 
showing  God's  idea  of  sin  as  proved  by  the  shedding  of  My  blood, 
which  blood  the  world  has  trampled  under  foot  and  accounted  an 
unholy  thing  ;  in  future  when  men  want  to  know  what  sin  really 
is  (not  merely  in  its  accidental  expression  but  in  its  essence)  they 
will  see  God's  revelation  and  estimate  of  it  in  My  cross.  When 
the  Comforter  is  come  he  will  convincingly  refute  the  world's 
theory  of  righteousness,  which  relates  wholly  to  appearances,  and 
is  more  or  less  a  successful  adaptation  of  expedients,  and  this  he 
will  do  by  taking  up  and  continuing  My  work,  which  I  now  lay 
down  that  I  may  go  to  My  father.  I  have  spoken  the  word,  I 
have  also  shown  the  example  ;  now  a  great  spiritual  process  must 
set  in,  and  my  outward  and  visible  work  must  receive  spiritual  il- 
lumination and  exposition.  When  the  Comforter  is  come  he  will 
convincingly  refute  the  world's  theory  of  judgment,  which  is 
founded  upon  the  most  obvious  differences  only,  and  has  no  refer- 
ence to  those  deep  spiritual  elements  and  facts  which  underlie  and 
account  for  all  human  conduct  ;  he  will  show  the  meaning  of  my 
temptation,  the  purport  of  my  answers  in  the  wilderness,  and  the 
discriminations  with  which  I  startled  the  men  of  my  day — such  as 
preferring  the  publican  to  the  Pharisee,  and  the  mites  of  the 
widow  to  the  gold  of  Dives  :  all  this  he  will  do,  and  then  will  be 
seen  that  My  work  is  not  the  broken  column  which  it  now  appears 
to  be,  not  a  failure,  not  a  humiliating  overthrow,  but  the  begin- 
ning of  a  kingdom  fair  as  the  sun  and  everlasting  as  the  heavens. 

This  conviction  is  being  wrought  out  by  many  instrumentalities  ; 
as,  for  example,  by  the  wise  exposition  of  the  living  Word  ;  by 
loyal  obedience  to  the  statutes  and  ordinances  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  by 
holy  and  unblamable  lives,  whereby  ungodly  men  are  silently  re- 
buked and  instructed ;  by  startling  developments  of  spiritual 
power,  by  which  the  people  are  now  sobered  by  great  fear  and 
anon  made  glad  with  sure  and  exultant  hope  ;  by  good  coming 
out  of  evil  ;  by  sudden  and  terrible  reproofs  of  powers  haughty 
and  defiant  in  their  self-sufficiency  ;  by  the  honour  of  methods 
and  plans  thought  to  be  feeble  and  useless  ; — in  all  these  ways, 
and  in  others  many  and  wonderful,  a  great  work  of  spiritual  con- 


344  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

viction  is  proceeding  in  society,  and  is  showing  itself  in  the  higher 
legislation  and  the  keener  discipline  of  mankind. 

Such  work  is  necessarily  slow  in  its  progress.  Conviction  is 
probably  the  slowest  of  all  work.  By  its  very  nature  it  is  both 
negative  and  positive  ;  that  is  to  say,  it  has  to  penetrate  error  and 
prejudice,  and  actually  to  destroy  them,  before  it  can  begin  its 
constructive  processes.  This  is  the  very  force  of  the  word 
f"A£;/A'o?as  employed  by  our  Lord  in  this  passage, — a  word  which 
involves  condemnation,  remorse,  penitence,  and  better-minded- 
ness  and  health  of  soul.  Work  of  this  kind  is  not  to  be  done  in  a 
day,  or  if  so  done  it  may  be  as  quickly  overthrown.  The  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  in  nowise  to  be  hurried  in  its  construction,  and 
inasmuch  as  it  is  the  highest  of  all  kingdoms  it  is  the  least  sus- 
ceptible of  impatient  influences.  It  resents  them.  For  a  time, 
godly  labour  will  seem  to  disappear  in  nothingness,  and  to  leave 
the  labourer  without  reward  or  joy  ;  but  aftenvards  there  will 
come  up  signs  and  tokens  which  cannot  be  mistaken  for  aught  but 
the  hire  and  honour  of  those  who  do  well.  Sin,  righteousness, 
and  judgment,  are  not  to  be  seen  objectively,  or  the  work  would 
be  easy  enough  ;  they  must  be  revealed  subjectively,  in  much 
painfulness,  self- accusation,  and  controversy  of  heart,  for  thus  only 
can  they  become  part  of  our  veiy  consciousness,  and  live  for  ever 
amidst  the  ruling  memories  of  human  life.  Jesus  Christ  commits 
his  great  work  to  the  ages,  and  to  the  ministry  of  the  Eternal 
Spirit,  assured  that  in  the  long  run  the  world  will  trace  its  true 
ideas  of  sin,  righteousness,  and  judgment,  to  the  Golgotha  of  his 
sorrow  and  the  Olivet  of  his  ascension.  "  He  that  believeth  shall 
not  make  haste."  "  Thou  fool,  that  which  thou  sowest  is  not 
quickened  except  it  die."  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Ex- 
cept a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth 
alone  :  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit." 


XXXVI 11. 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  thou  art  our  father  and  our  mother  ;  thou  art  full  of 
wisdom  and  power  and  love  towards  us.  In  all  thy  daily  ministry  thou 
comest  to  us  with  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  ;  thou  placest  all  things 
at  our  disposal  ;  thou  dost  not  treat  us  with  contempt  or  with  indifference, 
as  if,  being  the  creatures  of  a  day,  there  was  in  us  no  germ  or  hope  of 
immortality.  Thou  dost  surround  us  with  the  infinite  sufficiency  of  bless- 
ing and  care  ;  thou  dost  watch  us  as  if  thou  hadst  none  in  the  universe 
besides  us  ;  there  is  not  one  of  us  that  is  not  dear  to  thy  heart,  and  whom 
thou  wouldst  not  miss  from  thy  great  family.  We  pray  thee  to  impress 
us  with  the  sense  of  thy  continual  presence.  Teach  us  that  thy  presence 
is  not  intended  as  a  terror,  but  as  the  inspiration  and  hope  of  life.  Sur- 
round us  as  by  fire  that  no  enemy  may  come  near  us.  Grant  unto  our 
understanding  the  light  of  thy  wisdom  that  we  may  see  truth  as  a  con- 
tinual revelation  of  thyself,  and  cause  our  hearts  to  glow  with  divine  love 
towards  thee  as  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ.  We  bless  thee  for  the  Cross, 
for  the  Sacrifice  which  it  represents,  for  the  love  which  it  puts  before  us, 
for  all  its  deep  spiritual  meaning.  We  thank  thee  that  in  the  Cross  of 
Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God,  we  find  the  only  gate  of  Heaven.  Meet  us  to- 
day ;  comfort  our  hearts  ;  solve  all  the  difficult  questions  which  perple-x 
us  in  this  life  ;  work  in  us  saintly  patience,  tender  trust  in  our  living, 
loving  Father.  Say  to  each  of  us  the  word  of  forgiveness,  through  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  which  shall  give  us  liberty  and  inspire 
us  with  joy.  Lord,  hear  us  !  The  Lord  command  his  blessing  to  rest 
upon  us,  and  we  shall  be  filled  with  the  peace  of  God  !     Amen. 

REGENERATION. 

ACCORDING  to  the  gospel  of  St.  John,  our  Lord  taught  the 
doctrine  of  regeneration  at  an  early  period  in  his  ministry. 
It  is  remarkable,  as  illustrative  of  a  point  insisted  upon  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  essay,  that  this  fact  should  have  been  noticed  by 
John  alone,  showing,  as  it  does,  the  intensity  of  his  spritual  nat- 
ure. The  narrative  given  in  the  third  chapter  is  evidently  written 
con  amore,  being  as  to  its  tone  and  purpose,  quite  in  the  vein  of 
John's  own  sympathies  and  aspirations.  It  is  certainly  made  clear 
that  our  Lord  attached  primary  importance  to  the  doctrine  of  the 


346  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

second  birth,  and  that  he  identified  it  with  the  special  function  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  What,  then,  is  this  new  birth, — this  being  born 
again,  or  born  from  above  ? 

Regeneration,  as  our  Lord  explained  it,  was  evidently  a  novel 
doctrine  to  Nicodemus.  "  How,"  said  he,  " can  a  man  be  born 
when  he  is  old  ?  Can  he  enter  the  second  time  into  his  mother's 
womb  and  be  born  ?"  Considerable  light  is  thus  thrown  upon  the 
intellectual  character  of  Nicodemus  :  he  was  a  master  without 
mastery,  a  Horeb  without  a  burning  bush, — a  fact  of  which  our 
Lord  availed  himself  in  an  argumenium  ad  hominem,  which  must 
have  had  a  humiliating  effect  upon  the  ruler  in  Israel.  When 
physical  facts  are  set  forth  as  the  types  of  spiritual  realities,  the 
success  of  the  figure  depends  upon  the  intellectual  constitution  of 
the  student.  One  mind  reasons  upward,  another  downward ;  so 
whilst  one  man  seeks  the  theology  of  a  flower,  another  is  content 
simply  to  know  its  botany.  Nicodemus  had  only  one  idea  of 
birth,  and  with  all  the  simplicity  of  ignorance  he  instantly  applied 
it  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  would  seem  as  if  our  Lord  always 
used  what  we  (mistakenly)  call  common  words  in  their  primary 
signification,  and  that  consequently  there  was  frequent  confusion 
between  him  and  his  hearers.  For  example  :  "I  will  give  living 
water,"  is  an  expression  which  was  taken  to  mean  water  out  of  the 
well  ;  "  Beware  of  the  leaven  of  Herod,"  was  regarded  as  a  ref- 
erence to  ordinary  bread  ;  "Be  born  again,"  was  considered  as 
limited  to  physical  generation.  What  if  our  uses  of  these  words 
should  be  but  secondary  and  relative,  and  if  a  reproof  of  their  mis- 
application should  come  from  heaven  .?  Our  sense  of  the  term 
"water"  or  "bread"  may  be  but  a  convenient  misuse  of  words 
whose  meaning  points  toward  the  most  solemn  necessities  and 
desires  of  life  ;  in  that  case  we  become  the  offenders  by  material- 
ising and  limiting  words  current  as  between  the  highest  spiritual 
experiences  throughout  the  universe.  We  say  that  when  our  Lord 
said  "bread  "in  the  instance  just  quoted,  he  wasspeaking  figura- 
tively ;  why  may  not  ci«r  use  of  the  word  "bread"  be  figurative? 
Who  taught  man  language  ?  Is  it  inconceivable  that  God  may  have 
lent  man  an  eternal  symbol  by  which  to  describe  a  temporary 
necessity?  So  with  the  word  "bom  :"  we  limit  it  to  one  act, 
whereas  it  may  describe  the  progressive  transitions  by  which  men 


THE  HUMAN   WILL   IN  REGENERATION.         347 

and  angels  pass  "from  glory  to  glory"  in  the  highest  heavens.  It 
is  convenient  in  a  case  like  this  that  a  man  so  literal  as  Nicodemus 
proved  himself  to  be  should  lead  the  conversation,  because  he  will 
ask  questions  in  their  baldest  form,  which  we  shall  all  wish  to  have 
answered,  but  which  some  of  us  may  have  too  much  pride  or  too 
much  caution  to  propound.  A  dull  and  candid  man  often  lays 
his  superiors  under  considerable  obligation  without  knowing  it. 
The  presence  of  such  a  man  in  certain  companies  is  invaluable. 

A  grave  difficulty  arises  on  the  first  reading  of  our  Lord's  doc- 
trine, which  may  be  thus  generally  expressed — "As  a  man  had 
no  control  over  his  first  birth,  so  he  can  have  no  control  over  his 
second  ;  the  question  of  regeneration,  therefore,  is  one  with  which 
he  need  not  concern  himself,  for  it  is  entirely  beyond  his  province  : 
if  he  is  to  be  born  again,  he  will  be  born  again  :  if  not,  not  : 
and  whether  one  way  or  the  other,  he  himself  is  wholly  without 
will  or  responsibility."  It  has  been  attempted  to  support  this 
view  of  the  case  (more  or  less  modified)  by  such  quotations  as 
these  :  ' '  Born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of 
the  will  of  man,  but  of  God"  (John  i.  13).  "Of  his  own  will 
begat  he  us  with  the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of 
first  fruits  of  his  creatures"  (James  i.  18),  "Being  born  again, 
not  of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God, 
which  liveih  and  abideth  for  ever"  (i  Peter"  i.  23).  These  words 
would  seem  to  destroy  the  action  of  the  human  will  in  regeneration, 
and  to  leave  man  literally  without  choice  or  alternative.  This  would 
be  of  small  concern  where  the  act  of  regeneration  dots  take  place  and 
all  its  dignities  and  inheritances  are  secured,  but  it  is  another  matter 
where  no  such  act  transpires  and  no  such  enjoyments  are  realized. 
What  of  the  men  who  are  not  born  again,  and  are  consequently 
excluded  from  the  kingdom,  of  heaven.?  Let  us  look  at  two 
theories  : — 

1.  Regeneration  belongs  wholly  to  the  region  of  divine  sov- 
ereignty ;  it  leaves  the  will  of  man  without  choice,  election,  con- 
currence, or  movement  of  any  kind  ;  in  this  matter  man  is  simply 
as  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter  ;  whether  born  again  or  not  he 
is  wholly  without  responsibility.     And — 

2.  The  act  of  regeneration  transpires  with  the  consent  of  the 
human  will,  that  will  having  first  been  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
or  had  brought  to  bear  upon  it  all  the  motives  which  are  accessible 


348  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

to  the  most  cogent  and  persuasive  appeals,  and  the  man  having 
affirmatively  answered  the  inquiry,  Dost  thou  believe  on  the  Son 
of  God  ? 

Now  are  these  theories  as  mutually  hostile  as  they  appear  to  be  ? 
Or  are  they  identical  in  the  sense  of  one  being  the  doctrine  and 
the  other  its  application  ?  Most  decidedly,  in  our  opinion,  the 
latter.  We  view  the  subject  in  this  way  :  The  idea  of  regeneration 
is  essentially  and  absolutely  God's,  without  the  slightest  admixture 
of  human  thought ;  it  never  came — it  never  could  have  come — 
within  the  range  of  man's  intellectual  province.  Man  could  have 
proposed  reformation,  satisfaction  by  penalty,  repetition  of  life  on 
the  basis  of  experience,  but  at  some  such  point  his  inventiveness 
would  have  ceased  and  determined :  what,  then,  was  to  be  done } 
From  the  human  side,  nothing  ;  from  the  divine  side,  what  ?  The 
question  involves  an  agony.  It  can  be  answered  only  by  a  reve- 
lation, for  the  soothsayer  is  dumb  and  the  seer  is  blind.  God 
answers  the  inquiry  ;  he  says,  Ye  must  be  born  again.  The  very 
phrase  took  the  world  by  surprise.  It  was  astounding.  Nicode- 
mus  exclaimed  in  amazement  when  he  heard  it.  How  can  these 
things  be  }  Let  this  surprise  on  the  part  of  a  ruler  of  Israel  be 
carefully  observed,  as  showing  that  the  most  cultivated  and  trusted 
minds  had  never  risen  to  the  discovery  of  such  an  idea  as  the 
possibility  of  a  second  birth.  When  Nicodemus  spoke,  he  spoke 
not  for  himself  alone  ;  he  expressed  the  bewilderment  and  con- 
fusion of  the  whole  world.  Now  that  we  are  familiar  with  the 
phrase  "born  again,"  we  may  lose  much  of  its  proper  force; 
but  put  back  the  mind  to  the  night  on  which  it  was  first  used,  and 
we  shall  understand  something  of  the  concussion  by  which  Nic- 
odemus was  stunned.  Coming  thus  suddenly  upon  the  human 
mind,  without  consultation  with  any  human  counsellor,  the  idea 
of  the  second  birth  is  so  entirely  God's  that  we  are  constrained  to 
say,  "  Of  his  Qwn  will  begat  he  us  ;  not  by  works  of  righteouness 
which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  his  mercy  hath  he  saved  us, 
by  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  No  other  words  would  do  justice  to  the  case,  so  com- 
plete and  absolute  is  the  sovereignty  which  interposed  the  possi- 
bility of  regeneration  between  sin  and  death.  So  much  for  the 
first  theory.  It  is  in  its  substance  philosophically  and  theologically 
sound.     RegencFation  is  as  exclusively  a  divine  idea  as  is  creation. 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  ATONEMENT.  349 

and  not  the  less  so  that  it  adds  the  mystery  of  grace  to  the  myster)' 
of  power. 

But  how  is  this  proposition,  so  manifestly  divine  in  its  original- 
ity and  beneficence,  to  be  brought  to  bear  upon  mankind  ?  First 
of  all  it  must,  of  course,  be  declared  ;  being  declared  as  a  fact,  it 
must  in  the  next  place  be  expounded  as  a  doctrine  ;  but  it  sepa- 
rates itself  so  immeasurably  from  all  the  tracks  of  finite  thinking,  that 
the  mind  cannot  lay  hold  of  it, — it  is  like  a  star  which  lies  beyond 
the  field  of  the  telescope  ;  how  then  ?  In  the  absence  of  a  connect- 
ing medium  it  will  mock  and  trouble  every  aspiration  and  every 
dream  of  human  hope.  Is  there,  then,  such  a  connecting  medium  } 
Our  Lord  says  there  is,  and  he  proceeds  to  indicate  it  to  Nicodemus. 
He  preaches  redemption  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  as  completing 
all  the  typical  processes  with  which  Israel  was  familiar.  Redemp- 
tion was  intelligible  ;  it  seemed  to  carry  with  it  the  principle  of 
equivalents  ;  it  did,  indeed,  touch  the  tragic  element  of  human 
life,  yet  it  presented  a  great  practical  aspect  which  easily  secured 
attention  and  confidence.  It  is  of  the  first  consequence  to  observe 
that  our  Lord  connected  regeneration  inseparably  with  his  own 
priestly  work  ;  apart  from  this  it  would,  as  in  the  case  of  Nico- 
demus, have  confounded  all  human  thinking  and  troubled  all  hu- 
man effort  by  a  special  and  indefinable  influence.  Our  Lord  pro- 
ceeded to  the  divine  mystery  along  the  line  of  the  divine  love.  He 
said  in  effect :  You  must  begin  with  the  known  and  find  your  way 
to  the  unknown  ;  you  must  first  study  the  work  of  the  Son,  and 
then  proceed  to  study  the  work  of  the  Spirit ;  if  I  have  told  you 
earthly  things  and  ye  believe  not,  how  shall  ye  believe  if  I  tell  you 
heavenly  things  1  But  if  you  cannot  at  once  realise  the  purpose  of 
my  coming,  you  must  go  back  to  Moses,  and  study  afresh  the 
spirit  and  method  of  his  administration.  He  did  something  which 
will  help  you  to  understand  what  I  am  about  to  do,  "for  as  Moses 
lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of 
man  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  eternal  life,"  —  in  other  words,  should  be  born 
again.  The  ground  of  primary  inquiry  is  thus  distinctly  defined. 
We  cannot  understand  Christ  until  we  understand  Moses,  nor  can 
we  understand  the  Spirit  until  we  understand  Christ;  "under- 
stand," indeed,  in  no  pedantic  or  exhaustive  sense,  but  with  that 
tender  love  which  is  the  best  teacher  of  the  intellect.    Still,  another 


350  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

link  is  wanting.  How  is  man  to  lay  hold  upon  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  Christ  so  as  to  secure  its  advantages  and  submit  to  its  disci- 
pline ?  Our  Lord  himself  is  a  mystery,  how  then  can  he  be  known  ? 
Undoubtedly  he  is  a  mystery,  yet  nearer  to  the  nature  of  man  than 
any  purely  spiritual  being  can  be.  What  does  he  himself  say  as  to 
the  method  of  approach  ?  He  never  changes  the  condition  upon 
which  the  blessings  of  his  redemption  and  fellowship  are  to  be 
secured — "  whosoever  bclieveth, ' '  he  that  believdh, "  "  be  it  unto  thee 
according  to  thy/aM."  That  this  condition  was  emphatic  and 
unchangeable  is  shown  throughout  the  whole  ministry  of  the 
apostles,  whose  exhortations  may  all  be  expressed  in  the  words 
of  one  of  themselves — ''believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved."  But  is  not  faith  itself  the  gift  of  God? 
True  :  yet  "God  hath  dealt  to  every  man  the  measure  of  faith  " 
(Rom.  xii.  3)  ;  that  is,  he  has  given  to  every  one  of  his  respon- 
sible creatures  a  germ,  an  initial  power,  call  it  what  you  please, 
on  the  right  use  of  which  depends  the  destiny  of  the  soul.  Every 
man  has  something  with  which  to  begin  the  world, — to  begin 
eternity  ! 

Our  Lord  did  not  attempt  to  explain  the  mystery  of  regenera- 
tion :  "The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  thou  hearest  the  sound 
thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh  or  whither  it  goeth  ; 
so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."  Our  Lord  does  not 
mean  to  say  that  the  wind  is  lawless,  or  that  it  blows  according  to 
the  whim  of  an  arbitrary  power  ;  he  simply  illustrates  the  limitation 
of  human  knowledge  in  the  physical  world,  and  suggests  that  the 
same  limitation  is  as  actual  in  a  world  much  higher.  Yet  as 
Nicodemus  would  not  think  of  denying  the  existence  of  the  wind 
because  he  did  not  know  its  origin  and  could  not  trace  its  destina- 
tion, so  he  must  not  deny  the  reality  of  the  second  birth  simply 
because  he  was  baffled  by  its  mystery.  We  ourselves  are  daily  testi- 
fying to  the  soundness  of  this  very  reasoning.  Are  we  not  the  sub- 
jects of  many  processes  which  may  be  described  as  births,  and  do 
we  not  accept  the  results  without  pleading  the  mysteries  as  a  ground 
of  unbelief  and  inaction  ?  Thus  :  is  not  the  child  born  into  the 
man?  How?  Atwhat  precise  moment  does  the  child  disappear  and 
the  man  assert  his  status  and  dominion  ?  No  man  can  answer  the 
question.  Again  :  is  not  thought  being  continually  born  and  reborn 
in  the  mind  ?    Who  can  explain,  beyond  all  mystery  or  doubt,  the 


THE  FUNDAMENTAL    CHANGE. 


351 


origin  and  succession  of  ideas  ?  How  do  thoughts  combine,  repel, 
modify  each  other,  or  correct  and  enlarge  themselves  ?  Who  can 
measure  the  eccentricity  of  the  orbit  through  which  the  mind  daily 
passes  ?  Of  such  experiences  it  may  be  truly  said,  The  wind  blow- 
eth  where  it  listeth,  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not 
tell  whence  it  cometh  or  whither  it  goeth  ;  so  are  the  movements 
of  thine  own  mind.  In  every  man  there  seems  to  be  another 
master  than  the  man  himself, — a  genius,  an  angel  without  a  name, 
with  whom  he  often  wrestles,  but  against  whom  he  may  not  always 
prevail.  And  again  :  Is  there  not  a  similar  experience  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  affections .?  Love  has  never  known  its  own  secret. 
Why  not  love  all  persons  alike  }  By  what  law  do  hearts  claim  kin- 
dred, and  know  one  another  afar  off  .-*  What  is  the  law  of  antag- 
onism and  recoil  amongst  persons  marked  largely  by  the  same 
general  characteristics,  and  presumably  equal  to  one  another  in 
education  and  status  ?  How  is  it  that  a  conversation  in  the  highest 
electric  sympathy  and  confidence,  can  be  thrown  into  disorder  by 
a  person  who  is  a  non-conductor.?  The  wind  bloweth  where  it 
listeth,  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence 
it  cometh  and  whither  it  goeth  ;  so  are  the  currents  of  thine  own 
sympathies  and  affections  I 

Regeneration  must  be  its  own  witness.  It  is  not  to  be  discovered 
by  a  spiritual  chemistry  known  only  to  a  few,  but  to  be  proved  by 
a  life  which  the  rudest  observers  cannot  but  distinguish  by  its  virtue 
and  nobleness.  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  manifold,  yet  it  is  of  one 
quality  and  worth  throughout :  it  is  described  by  the  Apostle  Paul 
with  very  remarkable  minuteness — "The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love, 
joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness, 
temperance."  Why  use  so  many  words.?  Would  not  the  one 
word  "  goodness"  have  sufficed  .?  No.  Because  spiritual  growth  is 
often  in  individual  points  rather  than  in  the  central  substance  of  the 
character,  and  it  is  helpful  to  have  many  lights  by  which  to  judge 
of  progress.  Regeneration  does  not  destroy  the  primary  individ- 
ualities of  human  nature  :  Peter  is  as  ardent  and  Paul  as  courageous 
after  spiritual  renewal  as  before,  but  each  must  be  taught  to  add  to 
his  original  characteristics  a  culture  which  may  seem  to  lie  far 
beyond  his  strength, — Peter  must  add  self-control  to  his  ardour, 
and  Paul  must  attemper  his  courage  by  long-suffering  and  gentle- 
ness.    Not  so  much  by  the  development  of  his  specialities  as  by  a 


352  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

movement  toward    new   graces  will  the  wise  man  determine  his 
personal  regeneration. 

In  laying  down  the  doctrine  of  the  new  birth,  our  Lord  showed 
how  fundamental  and  complete  was  the  change  which  human 
nature  must  undergo  as  the  condition  of  entrance  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  He  did  not  propose  to  effect  merely  what  is 
known  as  a  social  reformation.  He  had  not  to  treat  the  question 
of  external  decay  but  of  spiritual  death.  This  statement  to  Nic- 
odemus  is  our  Lord's  doctrine  of  what  is  known  as  the  fall  of  man  ; 
instead  of  saying  in  so  many  words  that  Adam  fell,  he  stated  the 
fact  in  an  infinitely  more  comprehensive  and  impressive  form  when 
he  said,  "Ye  must  be  born  again."  All  hope  of  self- reformation 
was  destroyed,  and  man  was  sent  back  to  God  for  new  life  on  the 
ground  of  being  already  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins.  Christian- 
ity has  no  other  than  the  same  fundamental  message  to  deliver  to 
every  man.  When  its  preachers  speak  any  other  language  the 
gospel  falls  below  its  mission,  and  misleads  its  hearers.  Given  a 
humanity  only  partially  dismembered  and  enfeebled,  and  Chris- 
tianity is  altogether  in  excess  of  the  occasion  ;  but  given  a  human- 
ity "bom  in  sin  and  shapen  in  iniquity,"  then  Christianity  alone 
can  invest  it  with  eternal  life.  Man  may  be  staggered  by  the  doc- 
trine of  personal  and  absolute  depravity,  in  the  early  stages  of 
serious  thinking  ;  it  will  probably  appear  to  him  to  be  a  doctrine 
of  violence ;  he  will  point  to  a  grace  here  and  there  in  his  own 
character  which  will  practically  contradict  the  fierce  impeachment  ; 
but  when  he  is  "born  again,"  and  looks  back  upon  his  old  self, 
he  will  see  in  the  doctrine  a  truth  which  has  been  but  too  feebly 
stated.  Some  truths,  like  some  objects  in  nature,  are  best  seen  by 
contrasts.  The  doctrine  of  what  is  commonly  known  as  "original 
sin"  is  in  some  respects  the  hardest  of  all  doctrines  for  unrenewed 
man  to  receive  ;  it  assails  him  so  desperately  ;  it  shuts  up  his 
mouth  when  he  would  plead  his  cause  ;  it  divests  him  of  all  status 
in  the  sanctuary  of  God  ;  it  will  not  grant  him  a  single  postulate 
with  which  to  start  an  argument  in  his  own  defence  :  what  wonder, 
then,  if  he  be  goaded  to  resentment,  and  retire  within  the  security 
of  his  own  pride }  When,  after  many  an  hour  of  agony,  he  yields 
to  the  pleading  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  becomes  "a  new  creature 
in  Christ  Jesus, "  he  will  see  himself  by  contrast,  and  confirm  a 
doctrine  which  once  made  him  mad. 


TRUE  INSIGHT.  353 


Regeneration  gives  its  subjects  a  new  standpoint  from  which  to 
view  all  outward  things, — in  a  more  than  poetical  sense  it  gives 
them  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth.  We  know  how  all  outward 
things  vary  in  aspect  and  value  according  to  the  spiritual  condition 
through  which  we  regard  them.  The  world  is  shadowed  or  bright- 
ened by  our  own  heart  rather  than  by  anything  in  itself ;  our  joy 
makes  the  cloudiest  day  glad,  and  our  grief  finds  night  in  the  sun- 
niest sky.  In  that  supreme  moment  when  man  is  first  conscious 
of  his  regeneration,  there  is  no  miracle  in  all  the  life  of  Christ  that 
does  not  appear  to  him  simple  and  easy,  and  the  removal  of 
mountains  by  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed  is  only  the  sober  ex- 
pression of  an  ordinary  truth.  Such  removal  is  startling  to  us  in 
our  spiritual  coldness  and  languor, — quite  extravagant  and  absurd 
indeed,  — but  the  reason  is  in  ourselves.  In  a  moment  of  high 
spiritual  realisation  St.  Paul  exclaimed,  "  I  can  do  all  things  through 
Christ  which  strengtheneth  me."  Exactly  so.  Let  a  man  feel 
that  the  case  is  not  measurable  by  his  own  strength  but  by  the 
power  of  Christ,  and  he  is  at  once  delivered  from  the  prison  of  so- 
called  impossibility ;  he  will  know  that  all  things  are  possible  to 
him  that  believeth,  and  gird  himself  to  great  occasions  by  offering 
the  all-inclusive  prayer,  "Lord,  I  believe;  help  Thou  mine  un- 
belief." Measuring  ourselves  by  ourselves,  miracles  are  incredible 
because  impossible  :  animated  by  "  the  power  of  an  endless  life," 
miracles  are  to  us  but  the  large  letters  in  the  Bible  of  nature.  If  a 
man  be  but  a  critic  of  the  things  that  are  about  him,  he  will  not  see 
them  as  they  really  are.  He  will  defeat  himself  by  his  own  clever- 
ness. His  self-consciousness  will  isolate  and  impoverish  him. 
But  when  a  man  is  ' '  born  again' '  he  sees  that  what  he  calls  the 
universe  is  but  a  speck  in  a  higher  kingdom,  and  that  what  he 
calls  "  the  laws  of  nature"  are  but  constabulary  forces  intended  to 
keep  fools  in  their  places  and  help  honest  men  to  do  their  work 
in  security. 


CONCLUDING    PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  bless  thee  for  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  for  the  Sacred 
Church  which  he  has  built  out  of  the  material  he  has  miraculously 
restored.  Thou  didst  create  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  but  he  has  created 
a  nobler  universe.  We  are  his  workmanship  in  Christ  Jesus,  being 
sought  out  by  his  grace,  and  fashioned  into  beauty  by  his  power.  Our 
prayer  Is  that  the  work  may  be  carried  on  to  completion,  and  that  not 
one  of  us  may  be  lost.  Lord,  answer  this  prayer  of  human  love,  and 
make  us  strong  in  the  confidence  that  it  is  infinitely  less  than  thine  own. 
Holy  Spirit,  come  with  every  rising  of  the  sun  ;  breathe  in  every  wind  that 
blows  ;  and  set  a  glory  and  a  defence  around  our  whole  life  ;  and  thus 
make  us  princes  and  mighty  men  in  our  day  and  generation.  Reveal  the 
deep  things  of  thy  Book  to  us  day  by  day,  and  teach  our  souls  all  the 
meaning  of  thy  statutes  ;  so  shall  we  be  strong,  and  so  shall  earth  become 
part  of  heaven,  and  life  touch  the  mystery  and  the  joy  of  immortality. 
Spirit  of  the  living  God,  reveal  to  us  the  mystery  of  mysteries,  the  Cross 
of  the  Saviour  of  the  world  !  Holy  Spirit,  set  up  that  Cross  in  our  self- 
trustful  hearts,  and  on  it  slay  our  pride  and  vanity.  We  leave  ourselves 
in  thy  hands,  knowing  that  thou  art  able  to  keep  us  from  falling,  and  to 
present  us  faultless  before  the  throne.     Amen. 


Date  Due 

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